Finite element validation using displacement data from shake table tests within a virtual laboratory

The present paper shows an interactive and iterative methodology for the validation of finite element models with experimental data acquired during shaking table tests using a three-dimensional motion capture system. Such a system can detect the complete motion of up to hundreds of retro-reflective markers placed on the tested structure. The markers trajectories, reconstructed by spatial triangulation of camera rays, are processed with a dedicated displacement data processing (DDP) procedure to extract motion parameters. In the followed methodology a preliminary finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to identify the critical points of the model. Then such a FEA is integrated with the displacement data processed by DDP, focusing on the points where the strain energy concentration is most dangerous and allowing the numerical model validation. The displacements of selected markers are imposed at the corresponding nodes of the finite element model, while the displacements of the remaining nodes of the finite element analysis are compared with the corresponding markers on the real structure. In order to calibrate the model during the experimental investigation, the finite element model is updated at each step of the test sequence exploiting the hardware resources available in CRESCO, the ENEA HPC system. © Civil-Comp Press, 2014.