The shaking table with laminar box of the University of Messina

A new shaking table apparatus has been set up in the laboratory EUROLABCERISI of the University of Messina (Italy), consisting of a shaking table, a large laminar box and an automated system for soil deposition. A servo-hydraulic actuator can excite the shaking table in one direction reproducing both real and artificial seismic motions. A 6mlong, 1.5m-wide and 2m-high laminar box has been assembled to replicate the plane strain conditions. The soil deposition system consists of a hopper that can be moved above the soil container. The velocity of the hopper, the width of its lower opening and the soil falling height can be adjusted to attain the desired relative density in the soil model. The paper provides details of this experimental facility and describes the results of static tests, aimed to demonstrate that plane strain conditions are actually verified, as well as of dynamic tests, aimed to characterize the performance of the equipment.