Scaling method for small sized model testing of steel‐reinforced concrete structures

Abstract

The shaking table testing method on small sized models is one of the most effective approaches to study the overall seismic performance of various structures. Effective design of the scale model based on a rational scaling method can ensure the reliability of the test results. In this paper, the scaling methods are summarized into three levels: material similarity, component similarity, and structure similarity. A scaling method for steel‐reinforced concrete composite structures is proposed based on the component similarity, and experiments are conducted to verify the proposed method. The results show the flexural bearing capacity error between the model columns and prototype columns is within 20%, and both their force‐displacement curves and failure modes are consistent, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the scaling method. A 1/25 scale model of a steel‐reinforced concrete composite structure is designed based on the proposed method and tested on a shaking table to evaluate the seismic performance of its prototype. This research aims to provide a reference for the scaling method for shaking table tests.