Seismic response of a 1:6 reinforced concrete scale-model structure with flexible floor diaphragms

A comprehensive investigation to study the effect of flexible floor diaphragms on the inelastic seismic response of reinforced concrete buildings is presented. A combined experimental and analytical approach is utilized. The experimental program consists of shaking-table tests of single-story 1:6 scale-model structures, as well as quasistatic component tests of beam-supported floor panels, flexible beam-column frames, and stiff shearwall-beam frames under high-intensity cyclic loadings. An analytical modeling scheme is developed to include the inelastic effects of flexible floor diaphragms in the analysis of reinforced concrete buildings. A macro-model approach is used, where the effects of both in-plane flexure and shear are included. Presented here are an extended description and the results of an experimental study of the shaking-table response of a scaled-model structure, and its pertinent component tests. The correlation between the analytical predictions obtained using the developed model and the experimental responses is examined.