Abstract
| This paper describes the shaking table tests carried out at the European Centre for Training and Research in
Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) to investigate the seismic behaviour of four configurations of stacked
concrete blocks, commonly used at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) as a shielding
barrier against different types of radiation. The blocks used for these configurations have been designed to
guarantee an adequate level of protection to radiation and, at the same time, to be easily transported and
managed for different installations. The block configuration specimens have been tested using the acceleration
time-histories of two different earthquakes occurred in the Mediterranean region. Each configuration has been
tested several times with acceleration amplitude increments until rigid kinematisms are triggered. This paper
presents the test setup and inputs, the related experimental readings and the main results obtained by these
tests. The two main mechanisms observed at the interfaces between the blocks during the tests were sliding
and rocking. The data collected at the end of the experimental campaign constitute an important source to
calibrate different discrete-system-models, in order to study the seismic response of block configurations used
for radiation protection in particle physics research institutions. |