Testing facility for experimental evaluation of non-structural components under full-scale floor motions

The seismic vulnerability of non-structural components and equipment with their expensive recovery and/or replacement costs has been demonstrated during past earthquakes. With the exception of the nuclear industry, the limited data collected from past earthquakes are not suffi cient to completely characterize the seismic behaviour of non-structural components and to develop effective mitigation measures. To address these limitations, the University at Buffalo has commissioned a dedicated non-structural component simulator (University at Buffalo non-structural component simulator (UB-NCS)) composed of a two-level testing frame capable of simultaneously subjecting both displacement and acceleration-sensitive non-structural components to realistic full-scale fl oor motions expected within multi-storey buildings. Current codes now require seismic qualifi cation of important non-structural components, and protocols for experimental qualifi cation have been developed considering existing laboratory limitations. The new testing capabilities provided by the UB-NCS are described to demonstrate the improved and more realistic qualifi cation procedures that can be achieved. Results are presented from a test on two parallel partition walls aimed to verify the capabilities of the UB-NCS.