Soil-Structure Interaction, Test Site No. 2

Forced vibration of field test structure at Wildlife Liquefaction Array (WLA) site to investigate soil-structure-interaction (SSI) systems. The WLA site geotechnical properties are well documented and was chosen to be included as part of the SSI systems test series (experiment nos. 25 through 27). In this experiment's documentation, the test structure is referred to as 'Mini-Me.'

Mini-Me is a rectangular shaped steel moment frame with removable cross-bracing consisting of reinforced concrete roof and foundation. Braced and unbraced conditions were investigated as part of this experiment. The foundation mat is not embedded and has dimensions of 14 ft by 7 ft and a thickness of 2 ft. The height of the structure is 9.83 ft above ground and the upper deck (roof) has similar dimensions as the foundation mat, with the exception of the thickness which is 10 in. Mini-Me was instrumented with 24 accelerometers.

Six field accelerometers were placed about 1 foot underground in the vicinity of Mini-Me to represent free-field measurements. The structural drawings for Mini-Me and sensor location plan are provided in the drawing section of this experiment.

Mini-Me was subjected to force vibration testing using two types of shakers. A small shaker referred here as 'Atom-Ant' was used for x, y and torsion modal forced vibration testing at the roof and top of foundation mat levels. A larger shaker referred to as 'Mighty Mouse' was used for x and y modal forced vibration testing at the roof level.