The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Evaluation of the seismic performance of a thirty-story RC building

Anderson, James C.; Miranda, Eduardo; Bertero, Vitelmo V.

UCB/EERC-91/16, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1991-07, 254 pages (520/E92/1991)

This report presents the results of a series of studies conducted to evaluate the seismic performance of a 30-story ductile moment-resistant reinforced concrete frame structure located in Emeryville, California. This building, which is the tallest reinforced concrete building in Northern California, is founded on piles and consists of three equally spaced wings which extend outward approximately 112 feet from the central core. At the time of the Loma Prieta earthquake, the building was instrumented with 21 accelerometers deployed throughout the building. In addition, free-field recording stations were located on the north and south sides of the building. Inspection of the building following the earthquake did not reveal any significant damage or yielding of the reinforcing steel. In addition to the information obtained from the recorded earthquake response, results from ambient and forced vibration tests that were performed on the building prior to occupancy in 1985 are also available. The main objectives of these studies are (1) to evaluate the reliability of present system identification techniques for obtaining the building dynamic characteristics from recorded responses; (2) to evaluate the accuracy of current analytical modeling techniques; (3) to evaluate the influence of modeling discretization on the computed response; (4) to evaluate the validity of current code requirements; (5) to compare current U.S. and Japanese design procedures and requirements for this type of building; and (6) to analyze probable performance under more severe base motions. In order to achieve these objectives, linear elastic and nonlinear dynamic response analyses were conducted using both simplified and detailed analytical models. Results are presented in terms of response spectra, time history response comparisons, and maximum response envelopes.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-91-16.pdf (16 MB)