Experimental Investigation of the Seismic Response of Small Freestanding Replicas of Ancient Vessels

Monumental artifacts belong to our cultural heritage, and there is a great need to protect them from earthquake damage. This study experimentally investigates the behavior of replicas of ancient vessels under seismic excitations. Each vessel was placed on a wooden base, which was attached to a shake table and was excited by earthquake signals. The effect of the amplitude of the excitation and the friction coefficient between the object and the base of support was examined. The dynamic response of the vessels included sliding and rocking, which, at high excitation levels, could involve rotation about their vertical axis and translation motion. High levels of excitation could cause the vessels to overturn but this did not always occur at the same level of excitation. The coefficient of friction is a key parameter of their behavior. If it is high, sliding motion is reduced while rocking parallel to the direction of excitation increases, starting at low excitation levels. This could lead to an early overturning of the object. The geometric characteristics and irregularities of the vessel can play an important role in its dynamic response.