Performance Parameters for Pseudodynamic Tests

The pseudodynamic test method is an experimental technique that is commonly used worldwide for seismic performance testing. Many studies have shown that the method can provide realistic results, but the results are known to be quite sensitive to experimental errors. There have been efforts to mitigate the effects of experimental errors, but there has been little work to identify parameters that could be used during and after testing to estimate the quality of a given test. Ideally, such parameters could identify experimental problems early enough in a test to allow an orderly system shutdown and evaluation before the specimen is damaged. The parameters could also be used after testing data to ensure the test ran without significant errors, providing confidence in the measured response quantities. Using the results of pseudodynamic tests as exact experimental values without examining some sort of system performance parameters is like using the stress output from a finite-element program without knowing the mesh that was used to perform the analysis.