Shake Table Test Simulation of the Rotation Response of Asymmetric Stone Statue Models Under Seismic Excitation

Abstract eng:
Rotation damages are common in earthquakes, which usually occur when some form of plan irregularities exist. In 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, an interesting rotation phenomenon attracts our attention: most of the stone statues, which were placed upon the banisters of one zigzag bridge in Taibai Park, Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province, rotated an angle along the vertical axis and some of them with a small transverse displacement from their original location. To simulate and further study this phenomenon, in April 2013 we made a number of concrete models with different asymmetric characteristics, and then the models were arranged in different directions on the table to do shake tests in Tongji University. Firstly, the results show that the rotation phenomenon of the concrete models appears when loading three dimensional accelerations to the shake table and setting the acceleration amplitude 1.5 times of the original records recorded at Jiangyou station. Also, the test phenomenon is similar to what happened in the Taibai Park in Wenchuan Earthquake. However, when the loaded acceleration is only in two horizontal directions, the rotation phenomenon does not appear even when the amplitude is large enough. Secondly, the rotation phenomenon of the concrete models shows different modes with different model asymmetric characteristics and different acceleration inputting angles. Finally, the more important factor that causes the rotation phenomenon is the vertical direction seismic input. So for this case, vertical seismic action is crucial and cannot be ignored. Also from the shake table simulation test we can know that the transverse displacement and rotation of the stone statues in Wenchuan Earthquake were produced by the composition of three dimensional seismic effects.

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