Analysis of Recorded Responses of Super Tall Buildings in California During Distant Large Distant and Moderate Close Earthquakes

Abstract eng:
Super tall buildings are sensitive to large distant earthquakes because these large earthquakes can generate significant long-period ground motions. The response of a super tall building during a large distant earthquake can be as significant as the response to a close moderate earthquake. In California, several super tall buildings have been extensively instrumented with strong-motion accelerometers and their responses to large distant and close moderate earthquakes have been recorded. In this paper, the recorded data from two super tall buildings, a 52-story and a 54-story building in downtown Los Angeles, 30 km from the M6.7 1994 Northridge, 170 km from the M7.3 1992 Landers, and 190 km from the M7.1 1999 Hector Mine earthquake, are analyzed. Key building response parameters including the inter-story drift ratios and the total roof drift, which are also important engineering demand parameters in seismic designs of buildings, are computed. The response parameters for these two super tall buildings during the distant Landers and Hector Mine earthquakes, and the close Northridge earthquake are compared. The results show that the roof movements and inter-story drift ratios were larger during the distant Landers and Hector Mine earthquakes, although the floor accelerations were larger in the Northridge. It reiterates the importance of considering large distant earthquakes in the structural design of super tall buildings.

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