The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Experimental study of the seismic response of a two-story flat-plate structure

Moehle, Jack P.; Diebold, John W.

UCB/EERC-84/08, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1984-08, 244 pages (530/M635/1984)

A reinforced concrete structure was built at three-tenths scale and tested on an earthquake simulator. The test structure models a prototype structure having three bays in one direction and multiple bays in the transverse direction. The floor slab was supported on columns without interior beams, drop panels, or slab shear reinforcement. A shallow spandrel beam spanned the perimeter. Proportions of the structure were determined according to conventional design practice, with design seismic lateral forces as specified for Zone 2 of the 1982 Uniform Building Code. Details satisfy requirements of the ACI Building Code for structures in regions of moderate seismic risk. The experiments included tests having one horizontal component (parallel to the three-bay direction of the test structure) and one vertical component. Several earthquake simulations, with intensities ranging from low to high, were conducted. This report documents design, fabrication, testing, and observed response of the model. Observed response is interpreted. Correlations obtained using modal analyses, linear elastic frame analyses, nonlinear frame analyses, and limit analyses are presented. Observations from isolated component experiments are summarized, and comparisons of component and test structure behavior are made.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-84-08.pdf (22 MB)