Smartphones as Sensor Alternatives in Shake Table Tests: Experimental and Numerical Insights

Smartphones as Sensor Alternatives in Shake Table Tests: Experimental and Numerical Insights | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Smartphones as Sensor Alternatives in Shake Table Tests: Experimental and Numerical Insights Hakan Ozturk, GOKHAN DOK, Huseyin Guc, Onur Karaalioglu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7085188/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Steel structures are widely adopted in seismic design due to their superior strength, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity. This study presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation into the seismic performance of three steel building models incorporating different concentric bracing configurations—diagonal, X-shaped, and inverted V—with circular cross-sections. Shake table tests were conducted on twelve structural variants, including both braced and unbraced systems, under three ground motion records of varying intensities. Parallel finite element analyses were carried out using SAP2000, with calibrated stiffness parameters to reflect realistic dynamic behavior. A novel aspect of this study lies in evaluating the feasibility of utilizing smartphone accelerometers as low-cost alternatives to conventional sensors in structural health monitoring. Acceleration and displacement responses captured by smartphones showed strong correlation with those obtained from high-resolution accelerometers and numerical simulations, particularly within the optimal frequency band. Results reveal that diagonal bracing consistently provides the highest lateral stiffness and lowest story drift across all models and seismic intensities. Smartphone-based measurements yielded reliable dynamic properties, such as natural periods and peak accelerations, with deviations within acceptable engineering limits. The findings support the use of smartphone sensors for rapid post-earthquake assessments in regular structures and demonstrate that bracing type and cross-section significantly influence seismic performance. This study affirms the potential of integrating accessible technology with traditional methods to enhance resilience evaluation in earthquake-prone regions. Steel braced frame shake table testing smartphone accelerometer time-history analysis seismic performance Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7085188","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":501398432,"identity":"2bc66de2-3fcf-4557-91a0-0372aec73d65","order_by":0,"name":"Hakan Ozturk","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sakarya University: Sakarya Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hakan","middleName":"","lastName":"Ozturk","suffix":""},{"id":501398433,"identity":"39ba9dea-a409-438f-a231-d4df1be9ea24","order_by":1,"name":"GOKHAN DOK","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACNjYgwcwgwd4AJEHgANFaeA7AtTA2EKdFIoFILfLubWkPfu6wlpOc+fyZdGEbgxzfjQT2xxV4tBieOXbcsPdMurG0dI6Z9Mw2BmPJGwmMjWfwaZmR3ibB23Y4cZ50Dps0bxtD4gaQFnwuA2mR/AvSInn8GUhLPUEt8hJpx6RBtsyWYDADaUkwIKTFgOdYmrRsW7qxZE+OsfWMcxKGM888bJyJ15b2NjPJt23WchLHjz+8XVBmI893PPnAR7y2HEDlSwAxgZiUxy89CkbBKBgFowAIAJviTCqUrnK1AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3253-3875","institution":"Sakarya Uygulamalı Bilimler Üniversitesi","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"GOKHAN","middleName":"","lastName":"DOK","suffix":""},{"id":501398434,"identity":"d3771f3c-63d6-4821-a7f4-d1a4be5df9f8","order_by":2,"name":"Huseyin Guc","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sakarya University: Sakarya Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Huseyin","middleName":"","lastName":"Guc","suffix":""},{"id":501398435,"identity":"ee1ff519-3c56-46f4-b067-bbfaff6cd1c7","order_by":3,"name":"Onur Karaalioglu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine: Imperial College London","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Onur","middleName":"","lastName":"Karaalioglu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-09 15:15:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7085188/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7085188/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92894019,"identity":"b3a14b49-6f3a-4edd-825e-6c881a35d45b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-06 18:38:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2987358,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptSteel.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7085188/v1_covered_915d4a5d-0e8d-40e6-a7d6-b38a08f8ec0e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Smartphones as Sensor Alternatives in Shake Table Tests: Experimental and Numerical Insights","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Steel braced frame, shake table testing, smartphone accelerometer, time-history analysis, seismic performance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7085188/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7085188/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Steel structures are widely adopted in seismic design due to their superior strength, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity. 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