Performance of the CGS six DOF Shaking Table on the Harmonic Signal Reproduction

Shaking table testing continues to play an important role in earthquake engineering research. It has been recognized as a powerful testing method to evaluate structural components and systems under realistic dynamic loads. Although it represents a very attractive experimental procedure, many technical challenges, which require attention and consideration, still remain. High fidelity in signal reproduction is the focus of the work presented in this paper. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the capabilities of adaptive control techniques based on Amplitude Phase Control (APC) and Adaptive Harmonic Cancellation (AHC) on the harmonic signal tracking performance of the shaking table. A series of 232 sinusoidal command waveforms with various frequencies and amplitudes were conducted on the shaking table of the laboratory of the National Earthquake Engineering Applied Research Center (CGS, Algeria). Experimental results are reported and recommendations on the use of these adaptive control techniques are discussed.