SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF AN INSTRUMENTED TEN-STOREY REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDING

Abstract

Results from analytical studies conducted on an instrumented ten-storey reinforced concrete building which experienced ground accelerations in excess of 0.6g during the 1987 Whittier-Narrows California earthquake and suffered only minimal damage are presented. Using the dynamic characteristics inferred from accelerations recorded in the building during the earthquake, a mathematical model was calibrated to study the response of the building and to explain its good behaviour despite the apparent severity of the motions recorded in the basement of the building. Very good correlation was obtained between the computed and recorded response of the building. Non-linear analyses were conducted to evaluate the strength and deformation capacity of the building and to estimate its response in the event of more severe earthquake ground motions. Special emphasis is given to the evaluation of the overstrength of the building. Lateral overstrengths larger than 4.2 and larger than 5.7 were computed for the longitudinal and transverse directions of the building, respectively. It is concluded that these high levels overstrength in the building played an important role in limiting the damage during the Whittier-Narrow earthquake. Since the estimation of inelastic deformations during severe earthquake ground motions depends on the actual strength of the building, it is recommended to consider explicitly probable values of this overstrength in the strength reduction factors.