Design of a shaking table test on a 3-storey building composed of cast-in-situ concrete walls

Structural systems composed of cast in situ sandwich squat concrete walls, which make use of a lightweight material (for example polystyrene) as a support for the concrete, are widely used for construction in non seismic areas or in areas of low seismicity, and appreciated for their limited constructions costs, limited installation times, great constructions flexibility and high energy and acoustic efficiency. However their seismic behaviour has not been fully investigated. In recent years, an exhaustive experimental campaign, carried out by the University of Bologna and the Eucentre labs in Pavia, was devoted to the assessment of the seismic performances of single walls and of a portion of structure through cyclic tests under horizontal loads. To validate the theoretically and partially-experimentally anticipated (through cyclic tests under horizontal loads) good seismic behaviour of cellular structures composed of cast in situ squat sandwich concrete walls, shaking table tests were performed, at the laboratory facilities of the Eucentre in Pavia, on a full-scale 3-storey structural system composed of cast-in-situ squat sandwich concrete walls (characterized by 5.50 x 4.10 meters in plan and 8.25 meters in height). This paper describes the design process of the model as it should: (i) be representative of common real built structures; (ii) be easily transportable from the construction site to the table; (iii) lead to significant results; (iv) not damage the shaking table.