Dynamic Tests of An Idealized Long-Period Structure

An experimental program was devised to 1) study the displacement response of long-period structures (with periods from 3 seconds to 10 seconds) subjected to ground motions containing different types spectral shapes and 2) produce measurements of drift demands for long-period structures that can be used to evaluate of drift estimation methods. Seven scaled Multi-Degree-of-Freedom (MDOF) specimens, TS1 through TS7, with an initial period of approximately 1.2 seconds were tested with five ground motions of varying intensities. Each ground motion was scaled in time such that the scaled spectral shape of the motions near the initial period of the specimen was similar to the spectral shape of the unscaled motions for long periods. A total of 118 earthquake simulations were conducted.