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Field testing of substandard RC buildings through forced vibration tests

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Abstract

In this study, forced vibration tests were conducted on two full-scale substandard reinforced concrete (RC) buildings to obtain the dynamic characteristics (modal frequencies and damping ratios) of these buildings. These tests were carried out before and after quasi-static lateral loading cycles. Through quasi-static cyclic loading, which was applied only in x direction of the buildings, the buildings were forced to experience specific damage states in a controlled manner. The original aspect of the study is investigating the rates of changes of the dynamic characteristics with the increasing damage. According to the test results, it was observed that modal frequencies tend to decrease while damping ratios for different modes tend to increase with the increasing levels of damage. In addition, finite element models of the buildings were established and modal analyses were performed for the undamaged state. Model updating was carried out in order to determine the optimal means of improving the accuracies of the finite element models of the test buildings. Experimentally identified modal frequencies of the buildings and those computed using finite element model were found to be consistent. Since the buildings tested in this study represent most of the existing substandard RC buildings in Turkey, determining the changes in dynamic characteristics with the increasing damage would be useful in the decision of demolishing/retrofitting of these types of buildings after potential future earthquakes.

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Abbreviations

a :

Acceleration

b :

Effective slab width

C E :

A dimensionless correction factor for Young’s modulus

C b :

A dimensionless correction factor for effective slab width

e :

Eccentricity of disk of shaker

E c :

Young’s modulus of concrete

E T :

Error index related to the set of periods of vibration

F :

Sinusoidal force in a horizontal plan

f c :

Concrete compressive strength

f n :

Modal frequency of vibration

f 1–f 2 :

Pair of frequency values corresponding to 1/√2 level of the peak

RC:

Reinforced concrete

TB:

Test building

T 0 :

Identified vibration period of the undamaged building

T i :

Identified modal periods from FRF

T e i :

The experimental vibration period

T m i :

The vibration period obtained from FEM

w :

Angular frequency

ζ i :

Modal damping ratio

ζ 0 :

Modal damping ratio for the undamaged building

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to financial supports of Istanbul Development Agency (Project No: TR10/12/AFT/0050) and ITU Scientific Research Fund Department. The contributions of Prof. Dr. Z. Celep, Prof. Dr. Z. Polat, Prof. Dr. T. Kabeyasawa, Assoc. Prof. Dr. K. Kusunoki, Assoc. Prof. Dr. K. Orakcal, Assoc. Prof. Dr. E. Yuksel, Assist. Prof. Dr. O. Gunes, Dr. C. Demir, AN. Sanver, AO. Ates, M. Comert, Dr. C. Yenidogan, O. Ozeren, E. Tore, S. Khoshkholghi, A. Moshfeghi, S. Hajihosseinlou, HF. Ghatte, I. Sarıbas, Tech. A. Sahin and 2014 summer trainees are greatly appreciated. The authors are also thankful to supports of Akcansa Co., Art-Yol Co., Boler Celik Co., Hilti-Turkey Co., Tasyapi Co., Urtim Co., and the staff of Kadikoy Municipality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Structural and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory, Civil Engineering Faculty, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

    Caglar Goksu, Pinar Inci, Ugur Demir & Alper Ilki

  2. Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Management Institute, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ufuk Yazgan

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  1. Caglar Goksu
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  2. Pinar Inci
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  3. Ugur Demir
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  4. Ufuk Yazgan
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  5. Alper Ilki
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Correspondence to Caglar Goksu.

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Goksu, C., Inci, P., Demir, U. et al. Field testing of substandard RC buildings through forced vibration tests. Bull Earthquake Eng 15, 3245–3263 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-015-9799-x

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