Response of Reinforced Concrete Building Subjected to Northridge Earthquake

Abstract

The study of instrumented buildings helps to improve the tmderstanding of how structures respond to earthquakes and to decrease losses due to damage in future earthquakes. Traditional methods for modeling reinforced concrete elements may be used to provide estimates of the building response, and these methods can then be evaluated based on the measured response. This study focuses on the modeling and response modification of a reinforced concrete building designed in 1964 and subjected to the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The significance of the study is the investigation of the response of a reinforced concrete building with poor detailing and subjected to moderate earthquake demands. The structure is a reinforced concrete frame building located in Sherman Oaks, California with 13 stories and 2 sublevels. The building was instrumented with 15 sensors distributed on 5 floors. The maximum drift response of the structure was determined to be 0.7% of the total height of the structure with an associated maximum recorded ground acceleration of 0.23g. The study discusses the challenges of simulating the response of a structure having poorly detailed reinforced concrete columns that is subjected to moderate earthquake demands as well as how to apply a strength reduction factor to study the modification of the structural response.