Analytical studies of a full-scale steel building shaken to collapse

Abstract

A full-scale four-story welded steel moment-frame building was shaken to collapse on the E-Defense shaking table in Japan in September 2007. This building was used as a case study to investigate modeling techniques for nonlinear structural and collapse simulations. This paper presents various kinds of numerical models for beams, columns, and panel zones. The analytical studies suggest that the fiber-beam frame model considering composite beam effects simulates the responses of the four-story building specimen better than the hinge-beam frame model. Considering panel zone deformations in the numerical model can improve the accuracy of computing the displacement-related responses. Moreover, considering the effects of the composite beam action on the panel zone stiffness and strength can further enhance the accuracy of the response simulations. The column model incorporating fiber-beam–column element using cyclic buckling fibers proposed in this study can satisfactorily simulate the degrading force versus deformation relationships of the three-dimensional shell column model due to the local buckling. A frame model incorporating the same type of fibered column element could predict the collapse time of the test building. Based on these nonlinear response analyses, it is illustrated that the responses of the building can be estimated satisfactorily by using the modeling techniques presented in this study.