Article

Swinging the

Towers

Dynamic Properties of Buildings:

Experimental and Numerical Methods
Introduction

computing the key dynamic properties of buildings.

Time period and mode shapes are two of the most

Two existing reinforced concrete buildings (53 and

important dynamic properties of buildings. These

27-story) have been used as case studies.

are the pre-requisite parameters for the analysis and

Background Theory

design of buildings for random type of loads, like

wind and earthquakes. Response of a building to
dynamic loads depends primarily on the
characteristics of both the excitation force and the
natural dynamic properties of the building. These
properties can be computed both analytically and
experimentally. For analytical method, 3D finite
element-based modeling and analysis methods, and
software are used. High sensitivity electronic sensors
(velocity sensors) are popularly used as tool for in-

In the time domain

technique, responsetime history is employed directly in the
identification of dynamic properties of
structure. In the frequency domain technique, response-time
histor y has to be
firstly converted into
frequency domain by
Fourier analysis.

situ measurement
of the dynamic
properties (micro-

The general equation of dynamic with usual

notations can be presented in the following form:
ma + cv + kd = p (Eq. 1)

If the force (p) and damping (c) terms are set to

zero, the system reduces to:
(Eq. 2)
ma = kd
Substituting T = 2w and a = -w2 d, we get;
T =

1
2

m
k

Eq. 3 shows that the time period (T) and mode

shapes are natural properties of buildings and
independent of loads.

Site Measurement of Dynamic Properties

method). This

Theoretical Background for

Experimental Method

over view

of

theoretical
background, site
measurements
and

analytical

methods

for

Dr. Pennung Warnitchai

Associate Professor of
Structural Dynamic and
Seismic Design, AIT

(Eq. 3)

tremor excitations
paper presents an

About the Authors

Buddhi S. Sharma
Manager, ACECOMS, AIT

Two common methods for processing the velocity/

acceleration measurements at the site are:
Time domain technique
Frequency domain technique
In the time domain technique, response-time
history is employed directly in the identification

Suda Taleongpong
Chief Structural Designer of
the buildings.

September 2003 - March 2004

Article

acquisition system and a computer notebook, as

shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1: Time domain to

Frequency domain
Conversion

of dynamic properties of structure. While in the

frequency domain technique, response-time history
has to be firstly converted into frequency domain by
Fourier analysis. Dynamic properties are then
extracted from the frequency spectrum. Although
both techniques can be employed to identify the
dynamic properties of buildings, the frequency
domain technique gives a better physical
interpretation than the time domain technique,
because it presents the response of buildings in
frequency spectrum form. This frequency spectrum
can then be used directly to identify the natural
frequencies from the peak values of Fourier
magnitude, and calculate vibration mode shapes
from the spectral ratio method.

Identification of Natural
Frequencies Site Method
To obtain the natural
frequencies, the vibration
measurements taken for a
given time period at site are
converted to frequency based
plots, as shown in Figure 1.
The frequency corresponding
to the peaks of the plots
represents the natural
frequency of the building.

Figure 2: Measuring Devices

(Velocity Sensors and Signal
Acquisition System)

Figure 3: Typical Floor Plan and Location of Sensors

The site measurement work can be divided basically

into the following three tasks:
(1) The pre-processing analysis
(2) The identification of natural frequencies,
and
(3) The identification of vibration mode
shapes.
The pre-processing includes recording of velocity
from two sensors for two principal directions as
shown in Figure 4.
The above signals are converted to Fourier
amplitude and phase spectra as shown in Figure 5
and 6, using mathematical tools. The peak

Identification of
Vibration Mode
Shapes at Site

frequencies of these plots represent the natural

Site Measurement
Devices and Methods

and torsional modes by determining the phase

The key devices used for the

measurements of vibration
responses of building under
natural conditions (wind, traffic) consists of two
high sensitivity 3-axis velocity sensors, 24-bit data

September 2003 - March 2004

For frequency measurement, typically two velocity

sensors are placed at opposite corners of a building
top, (point A and B, as shown in Figure 3) which
can record the velocity responses in two orthogonal
directions (X-Y). For mode shape measurement,
one of the velocity sensors (A) is fixed at some
reference point (R, typically at the top of a staircase
duct) and sensor B is placed vertically down along
the height of the building.

frequencies of vibration modes. In general, the

vibration modes can be classified into translational
angles of Fourier spectra. Torsional mode can be
identified if the phase difference between the two
sensors is 180 . For translational modes, the phase
difference between the two sensors must be zero.

Improving Ambient Vibration

by Human Excitation
The natural vibration modes of the building
can be excited by human forces! The human force,
if applied at constant time interval (very close to
natural frequency) for some time, imparts a
harmonic force to the building. Human exciter
team (4-6 persons) as shown in Figure 7, pushes

Figure 4: Velocity-time History from Ambient Vibration

the building near the top following a beep sound

given by an electronic metronome at a frequency
synchronized to pre-estimated frequency of the
building. The objectives of this task are:
(1) To verify the natural frequencies of
buildings estimated by ambient vibration
measurements, and
(2) To study the free vibration responses of
the buildings, immediately after
removing the human excitation to
estimate other useful dynamic properties
(damping, etc.)
Figure 7 shows the human exciters on the top
floor of a 53-story building and Figure 8 shows
the harmonic-like responses due to that
excitation. Figure 8 also shows the results under
human excitation at 1.27 Hz. This verifies that
the initially estimated frequencies under ambient

Figure 5: Typical Fourier Spectrum of Each Section and

Average Fourier Spectrum for One of the Channels

vibration are the correct natural frequency of the

building.

Case Studies
Tower 1: 53-Story RC Building
(43x61x210m high)
Tower 2: 27-Story RC Building
(26x30x95m high)

Results for Tower 1

Table 1 (on next page) shows the schematic plan

Figure 6: Sample Phase Difference Plots for Two Sensors

of Tower 1. The measurements were taken first

at the top floor of a building and along the
staircase. The ambient and controlled human
excitation responses in two orthogonal
translation directions were recorded by two
sensors. The results are shown in the following
plots.
Figure 7: Human Exciters on the Top Floor
of the Tower Swinging the Building!

Figure 8: Harmonic-like Response

After a Human Excitation

September 2003 - March 2004

September 2003 - March 2004

Tower 2: 27-story

Tower 1: 53-story

Tower

Normalized Mode Shapes

Mode 1

Table 1: Schematic Floor Plan, Location of Velocity Points

and Normalized Mode Shapes for Tower 1 and Tower 2

Normalized Mode Shapes

Mode 2

Mode Shapes
Not Available

Normalized Mode Shapes

Mode 3

Article

Tower 1: 53-story

Tower 2: 27-story
Figure 9: 3D Finite Element Model of Tower 1
and Tower 2

Analytical Method for

Dynamic Properties
3D finite element method, combined with Eigen
or Ritz vector solver, was used to extract the modal

Mode
X-Translation 1
Y-Translation 1
Torsion 1
X-Translation 2
Y-Translation 2
Torsion 2
X-Translation 3
Y-Translation 3
Torsion 3

Natural Frequency
f(Hz)
0.34
0.66
0.53
1.27
2.04
1.70
2.80
3.25

Table 2: Natural Frequencies of Tower 1

frequencies and shapes of the two towers. Figure 9

shows the 3D models of the towers and some
mode shapes. Plate and shell elements were used
to model the slab and walls. Line elements were
used to model the beams and columns. The pile
foundation was modeled using linear springs. Areas
springs were applied to the basement walls.

Comparison of the Results

A close match between the experimental and
analytical methods was found. A small deviation
near the top of the second order mode shapes was
noticed for the 53-story tower.

Mode
X-Translation 1
Y-Translation 1
Torsion 1
X-Translation 2
Y-Translation 2
Torsion 2
X-Translation 3
Y-Translation 3
Torsion 3

Natural Frequency
f(Hz)
0.31
0.25
0.43
1.05
0.86
1.27
1.80
1.70
2.22

Figure 10:
Sample Fourier
Spectrum in Ydirection at
Sensor-A

Table 3: Natural Frequencies of Tower 2

September 2003 - March 2004