Seismic Resistance Capacity of High-Rise Buildings Subjected to Long-Period Ground Motions: E-Defense Shaking Table Test

Abstract

A series of large-scale shaking table tests is conducted for a high-rise building structure subjected to long-period ground motions. A test method is developed to preserve the original dimensions of structural members of a prototype building that has 21 stories with a total height of 80 m. The test specimen consists of a four-story, two-span by one-bay steel moment frame and three substitute layers placed on top of the moment frame. The substitute layers, which consist of concrete slabs and rubber bearings, are arranged to represent the upper stories of the prototype. From preliminary vibration tests, equivalence between the test specimen and the prototype is verified in terms of the lower mode natural periods and corresponding mode shapes. The test specimen when subjected to long-period ground motions exhibits cumulative ductilities more than four times those expected in Japanese seismic design, while the maximum story drifts remain nearly the same as those considered in the design. A number of cyclic inelastic deformations caused fractures at the bottom flanges of beam ends. According to these observations, the combination of large cumulative ductility demand, the weld quality of the field weld connections, and the promotion of strain concentrations at the toe of the bottom flange weld access hole by the presence of floor slabs caused the fractures and resultant smaller cumulative ductility relative to that observed in the bare beam tests.