Experimental Methods for Seismic Simulation of Structural Columns: State-of-the-Art Review and Introduction of New Multiuse Structural Testing System

Experimental research on seismic behavior of structural columns is one of the most important and active research areas in structural engineering. Various methods with innovative loading configurations have been developed by researchers over the past several decades, and the research has enhanced our knowledge about the performance of structural columns, resulting in the improvement of design practice. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the testing setups for simulating earthquake loading on structural columns, to reveal the trend of sophistication of testing methods. Special attention is given to the large tonnage axial loading methods and the shortcomings of existing methods. Based on past experiences and a review of existing methods, a new multiuse structural testing (MUST) system is developed and described in this paper. Because the MUST equipment has the unique ability to maintain the axial load vertical during lateral loading, and the force inputs to the structural model can be directly measured, it is more suitable for simulating structural responses under horizontal and vertical ground motions.