Abstract

A novel system identification technique called Mod-zeta (var) is formulated, implemented, and validated to study the seismic response of a 3D R/C shear wall building during the 2010 central Chilean mega-earthquake (Mw = 8.8). The Mod-zeta(var) approach is an evolution of Least-Square modal system identification techniques, where modal parameters are adjusted through small data windows to fit seismic data in the frequency and time domains. This technique offers several advantages over traditional methods, including the estimation of time-variant dynamic properties during seismic events and the reliable assessment of continuous nonlinear modal responses. As a result, the Mod-zeta(var) approach allows for determining empirical response spectra related to each seismic input. The technique can also compute the local response of measured and unmeasured floors as the product between the nonlinear modal responses (obtained from the Mod-zeta(var) approach) and the normalized seismic mode shapes for all building floors, which can be estimated from ambient vibration data. Finally, the seismic floor deformations can be imposed on a FEM to determine relevant engineering quantities such as inter-story drift, inter-story forces, and local demand of structural elements (e.g., drift ratios, curvatures, internal forces, stresses, strains, etc.).