The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Dynamic behavior of a pedestal base multistory building

Stephen, Roy M.; Wilson, Edward L.; Bouwkamp, Jack G.; Button, Martin R.

UCB/EERC-78/13, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1978-07, 156 pages (545/S75/1978)

As a part of a continuing program to evaluate the dynamic response of actual structures and to accumulate a body of information on the dynamic properties of structures, especially when these structures have novel design features, a dynamic test program was conducted on the 42-story Rainier Tower building in Seattle. This program also is aimed at evaluating the accuracy of computer modeling techniques and programs by comparing the experimentally derived dynamic response data with analytically predicted values. The dynamic tests of the building included both a forced vibration study and an ambient vibration study. These results are compared and, in general, show very good correlation. A mathematical computer model of the Rainier Tower was formulated, and the results of the analysis are presented and compared to the experimental results. In general, the results also compare very favorably.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-78-13.pdf (41 MB)