Rate-Dependency Study of Reinforced Concrete Piers with Cyclic Loading Tests, Hybrid Simulations, and Shake Table Testing

Dynamic response of structures can be evaluated experimentally by conducting various tests such as cyclic loading test, hybrid simulation, and shake table testing. It has been known that concrete materials are rate-dependent. However, the rate-dependency of reinforced concrete (RC) structures has not been sufficiently studied, especially under earthquake loads with their actual loading rates. For this reason, it has been believed that the response of RC structures is not so sensitive to loading rate expected from earthquake loads. In this study, the rate-dependent behaviors of RC piers are investigated and compared by conducting cyclic loading test, slow hybrid test(SHT), real-time hybrid test(RTHT), and shake table testing(STT). A small-scale rectangular sectioned RC piers are manufactured and subjected to various loads with different loading rates, where it shows that the strength, energy dissipation capacity, and structural response of the RC piers can be substantially affected by loading rate.