Dynamic analysis of a ten-story reinforced concrete building using a continuum model

Abstract

During the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, accelerometers maintained by the California Division of Mines and Geology Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) recorded the response of a 10-story, reinforced-concrete building located in San Jose, California. In this paper, a computationally efficient, approximate, dynamic analysis of the building is conducted utilizing a reduced-order continuum model. Continuum methodology makes use of the repetitive nature of lattice framing systems to generate finite element models having significantly fewer degrees of freedom than models generated using classical discrete finite element techniques. The vibrational characteristics of the continuum model, as well as the results of dynamic analyses, are compared to information gained from the recorded response of the building. The continuum model proves to be quite accurate, both in capturing the dominant periods of vibration of the structure and in predicting the time-history response. As a result, the method shows promise as a tool for use in the analysis and design of large lattice structures subjected to earthquake loads.