Modular Testbed Building: A Shared-Use Reusable Equipment Resource

The Modular Testbed Building, or MTB2, will be the first specimen tested on the newly upgraded 6 degrees of freedom Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST6). The MTB2 is designed to be reconfigurable and reusable community shared-use equipment resource. Reuse is accomplished by having a connection scheme that allows yielded members to be replaced, while leaving the rest of the structure in place. This modular design enables low-cost testing of components and subsystems at large to full-scale under simulated dynamic 3D loading. This has large implications for seismic performance verification and acceptance of innovative designs including seismic protective systems, lateral force resisting systems, stairs, nonstructural systems, among others. The Modular Test Bed also provides for payload opportunities within the broader community.

MTB2 reconfiguration allows for three different structural configurations as depicted in the renderings above. The SMF configuration results in the most flexible building framing system, utilizing a moment frame with replaceable shear fuse plastic hinges in the longitudinal direction. The BRB-1 configuration involves 3-levels of braced frames with buckling restrained braces (BRBs) placed on each floor. Finally, the BRB-2 configuration is identical to BRB-1 with the exception of the replacement of the BRBs on the first floor with the moment shear fuses in an effort to promote a softer first floor.

The standard building configuration consists of a three story (12'/story) two bay (16'/bay) by one bay (20') frame structure.