Experimental study in the shaking table of the input motion characteristics in the dynamic SSI of a SDOF model

In conventional seismic design the capacity of the system is generally exploited only at the superstructure level. However, soil non-linearity as well as soil-foundation interface non-linearity can be crucial in the seismic response of structures. The results of tests performed on physical models allow the main aspects of these interaction mechanisms to be identified and also provide a benchmark for subsequent theoretical or numerical analyses. The present paper deals with two shaking table tests performed at the University of Bristol’s EERC laboratory. The tests were performed on a physical model consisting of a Leighton Buzzard sand deposit and a one-storey steel model structure. Some of the test results are presented and discussed in terms of acceleration and displacement responses. Both time- and frequency-domain representations were adopted to highlight the influence of the frequency and amplitude of the input motion on the coupled and/or uncoupled response of the tested soil-structure system, as well as the effect of soil non linear behaviour.