Responses of two tall buildings in Tokyo, Japan, before, during, and after the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake of 11 March 2011

Earthquake Spectra
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Abstract

The 11 March 2011 M 9.0 Tohoku earthquake generated significant long duration shaking that propagated hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter and affected urban areas throughout much of Honshu. Recorded responses of tall buildings at several hundred km from the epicenter of the main shock and other events show tall buildings were affected by long-period motions of events at distant sources. This study presents behavioral aspects of 29-story and 30-story neighboring buildings in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, Japan, as inferred from records retrieved from a sparse array of accelerometers deployed in the superstructures, at ground and 100 m below the ground level over a time interval covering before, during, and after the main shock. Such long-period effects are common in several regions of Japan as well as in the United States and in other seismically active countries. Permanent shifts in fundamental frequencies are observed. Drift ratios indicate possible structural nonlinear behavior occurred during the main shock. The need to consider risks to built environments from distant sources, including those in neighboring countries, is emphasized.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Responses of two tall buildings in Tokyo, Japan, before, during, and after the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake of 11 March 2011
Series title Earthquake Spectra
DOI 10.1193/092713EQS260M
Volume 32
Issue 1
Year Published 2016
Language English
Publisher Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 33 p.
First page 463
Last page 495
Country Japan
City Tokyo
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