U.S.‐Japan Research: Seismic Design Implications

Abstract

A U.S.‐Japan cooperative project to improve the safety of buildings included static and dynamic tests of reinforced concrete structures of various sizes. The results from a large‐scale, seven‐story structure built and tested in Tsukuba, Japan, were complemented by results from static and dynamic tests of models and from experimental investigations of individual members and member assemblies. The large‐scale test structure was loaded laterally by forces at each story, simulating the force distribution for the lowest translational mode. Load history was determined by calculating how the planar wall‐frame combination with a fixed base would respond to a strong ground motion, using measured incremental stiffness. The strong influence of floor slabs and of strain hardening in the reinforcement on base shear observed in the test of the large‐scale structure was confirmed by results of the complementary investigations. This report contains a brief description of the conclusions of practical importance derived from the tests and their analyses.