*2.5. Shake Table*

A unidirectional shake table was specifically designed and manufactured for this research, in order to fulfill the testing requirements of the real-scale three-storey precast concrete building.

The shake table is composed of a cast steel slab 4.14 m long, 2.87 m wide, and 0.65 m high. It rests on six circular elastomeric bearing pads, reinforced with steel plates. The dimensions of the bearings are 350 mm diameter and 137 mm high.

The seismic loads are applied using a tension-compression MTS 201.70F dynamic actuator (MTS, Eden Prairie, MN, USA), with a capacity of ±1000 kN. The actuator has a load cell MTS 661.31F-01 (MTS, Eden Prairie, MN, USA), with a range of ±1000 kN and an error of below 1% of the range. During the testing, the actuator provided a longitudinal displacement. In order to prevent undesirable transversal movements, four stoppers were placed in both lateral sides of the steel slab (Figures 5 and 6).

**Figure 5.** Shake table.

**Figure 6.** Detailed view of the dynamic actuator.
