Earthquake Design Compared to Measured Response

Abstract

The design of a full‐scale reinforced concrete building is compared to US seismic resistant design practice, and the observed behavior and measured response of the building during a series of simulated earthquake tests is compared to behavior predicted by US engineers. The test structure is the seven story building tested in Japan as part of the US‐Japan cooperative research agreement. Two west coast design offices were asked to answer five questions, which were intended to give a comparison between the design of the test structure and the design provisions of the Uniform Building Code. The results indicate that the test structure had some significant code violations with respect to detailing and strength of the shear wall. A five part questionnaire was also developed and presented to several US engineers. They were asked what type of response they expected from the test structure during simulated earthquake tests. The responses from the engineers often varied widely, but the average of their responses usually compared well to observed and measured results from the actual tests.