Alternative instrumentation schemes for the structural identification of the reinforced concrete field test structure by ambient vibration measurements

The outcomes of the ambient vibration measurements carried out to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of the reinforced concrete field test structure were presented. The test building was designed according to Turkish Seismic Code and constructed for this research study at the field laboratory in Sakarya University. The first aim is to conduct ambient vibration tests on a full-scale field test structure to measure its modal properties for the cross-validation of a finite element model of the test structure. The second aim is to optimize the instrumentation schemes from cost and quality of data point of view. Six tri-axial accelerometers were situated in different configurations on the test structure. For every configuration ambient vibrations were recorded to measure the dynamic characteristics of the test structure. For the system identification with ambient vibration signals Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) method was used. A satisfactory match between theoretical and experimental modal parameters was deduced for certain instrumentation scheme.