The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Dynamic properties of an eight-story prefabricated panel building

Bouwkamp, Jack G.; Kollegger, Johann P.; Stephen, Roy M.

UCB/EERC-80/30, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1980-10, 80 pages (545/B68/1980)

Results are presented of forced and ambient vibration studies of an eight-story apartment building, constructed with prefabricated wall panel and slab elements. Dynamic characteristics, such as resonant frequencies, damping, and vertical and horizontal mode shapes of the structure, were determined and correlated with analytical results using the computer program TABS-77. Rigid floor diaphragm action and serious structure-foundation interaction were observed. Including the foundation flexibility in the analytical model resulted in resonant frequencies and mode shapes that showed excellent agreement with the test data. Results are also presented of full-scale dynamic studies of a 12-story apartment building with a floor plan basically identical to that of the eight-story building. An examination of these results indicates that structural height is directly proportional to the fundamental periods of the structure.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-80-30.pdf (3 MB)