Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411

www.elsevier.com/locate/soildyn

Ambient vibration tests of a seven-story reinforced concrete building in

Van Nuys, California, damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake
S.S. Ivanovic a, M.D. Trifunac b,*, E.I. Novikova c, A.A. Gladkov c, M.I. Todorovska b
a
Civil Engineering Department, University of Montenegro, Podgorica 81000, Montenegro, Yugoslavia
b
Civil Engineering Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531, USA
c
Geopex Ltd, Raleigh, NC 27603-2343, USA
Accepted 11 May 2000

Abstract
Results of two detailed ambient vibration surveys of a 7-story reinforced concrete building in Van Nuys, California, are presented. Both
surveys were conducted after the building was severely damaged by the 17 January 1994, Northridge earthquake ML 5:3; epicenter
1.5 km west from the building site) and its early aftershocks. The rst survey was conducted on 4 and 5 February 1994, and the second one on
19 and 20 April 1994, about one month after the 20 March aftershock ML 5:3; epicenter 1.2 km northwest from the building site). The
apparent frequencies and two- and three-dimensional mode shapes for longitudinal, transverse and vertical vibrations were calculated. The
attempts to detect the highly localized damage by simple spectral analyses of the ambient noise data were not successful. It is suggested that
very high spatial resolution of recording points is required to identify localized column and beam damage, due to the complex building
behavior, with many interacting structural components. The loss of the axial capacity of the damaged columns could be seen in the vertical
response of the columns, but similar moderate or weak damage typically would not be noticed in ambient vibration surveys. Previous analysis
of the recorded response of this building to 12 earthquakes suggests that, during large response of the foundation and piles, the soil is pushed
sideways and gaps form between the foundation and the soil. These gaps appear to be closing during dynamic compaction when the
building site is shaken by many small aftershocks. The apparent frequencies of the soilfoundationstructure system appear to be inuenced
signicantly by variations in the effective soilfoundation stiffness. These variations can be monitored by a sequence of specialized ambient
vibration tests. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Full-scale testing; Ambient vibration surveys; Ambient vibration testing; Northridge earthquake; Modal analysis; Earthquake damage

1. Introduction They can be used also to describe the linear behavior of

The mathematical models used in dynamic analyses of
structures are idealizations required to represent the
response of real structures to various dynamic loads (e.g.
strong earthquake shaking, strong winds, explosions etc.).
They can be veried by conducting experiments on full-
scale structures, e.g. ambient and forced vibration [1,2].
Both of these can be used to identify the structural charac-
teristics, e.g. the frequencies of vibration, damping ratios
and mode shapes. While these experiments are to a great
degree repeatable, measurements of the response to strong
earthquake shaking are not (large earthquakes occurring
anywhere close to the structure are rare events compared
to its service time).
The ambient vibration tests describe the linear behavior
of structures, since the amplitudes of vibration are small.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 11-213-7400570; fax: 11-213-744-1426.
E-mail address: trifunac@usc.edu (M.D. Trifunac).
0267-7261/00/$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0267-726 1(00)00025-7
damaged structures and of their components, and can
guide researchers in developing time and amplitude depen-
dent structural models and analysis algorithms, to be used in
structural health monitoring and in structural control
studies. Therefore, further development of experimental
methods for in situ measurement of full-scale partially
damaged structures is of great interest [36]. An advantage
of the ambient vibration over the forced vibration surveys is
that they usually require light equipment and smaller
number of operators. The sources of excitation are
wind, micro-tremors, microseisms, and various local
random and periodic sources (e.g. trafc or heavy
machinery).
The forced vibration tests may require large forces to
produce useful (larger) response amplitudes of full-scale
structures. The force (a shaker) is usually located on top
of the building. This leads to more prominent excitation
of the modes of vibration that have large amplitudes at the
higher levels of the structures. However, the paths of waves
392 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411

Fig. 1. General setting of the VN7SH building in Central San Fernando Valley. (a) Location of the building relative to the fault planes of the 1971 San
Fernando and 1994 Northridge earthquakes (their horizontal projections are shown by dashed lines), and the epicenters of two Northridge aftershocks (solid
stars) and other earthquakes with epicenters outside the map. (b) Location of the building relative to the distribution of red-tagged buildings (gray zones) and
reported breaks in the water pipes (solid dots) during the 1994 Northridge earthquake (after Ref. [43]).
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 2. VN7SH building: (a) typical oor plan; (b) foundation plan; (c) typical transverse section; and (d) soil boring data from 7/17/1965.
propagating through the structure are different from those in
case of ground shaking or wind excitation, and cautious
interpretation of the results is required to take such differ-
ences into account [710].
In the US, ambient and forced vibration tests of structures
have been conducted for about 60 years. The US Coast and
Geodetic Survey started measuring the fundamental periods
of buildings by ambient vibrations tests in the early 1930s
[1,11]. Some 30 years later, Crawford and Ward [12], and
Ward and Crawford [13] revived the interest in this method
and showed that it can be used to determine the lowest
frequencies and modes of vibration of full-scale structures.
Trifunac [14,15] used wind and micro-tremor induced
vibrations to test a 22- and a 39-story steel frame building.
Few years later, he compared the results of forced vibration
experiments on the same two buildings with the results of
ambient vibration surveys [16]. The results of both tests
were consistent and comparable. Udwadia and Trifunac
[17] presented results of ambient vibration tests of four
buildings of different type (a 22-story steel frame building,
a 39-story steel frame building, a 9-story steel frame build-
ing and a 9-story reinforced concrete (RC) building), and
discussed the changes in the ambient vibration response
prior and after an earthquake. They analyzed the effects of
393
interaction between soft soil and a stiff structure
immediately and long after an earthquake. Throughout the
1970s and the 1980s, ambient and forced vibration tests
were used to compare small amplitude (linear) with larger
amplitude response and to nd the pre- and post-earthquake
apparent frequencies of full-scale structures [18], and to
identify the three-dimensional nature of deformations
accompanying the apparent frequencies of response
[7,1921]. They were also used to resolve the contradictory
interpretations of the signicance of the soilstructure inter-
action and of the causes of nonlinearity (the soil or the
structure) in observed response of buildings to strong earth-
quake excitation [810,22]. During the 1990s, ambient
vibration tests continued to contribute to in-depth studies of
the changes in structural properties [23] and towards further
development of structural identication methods [24].
This paper describes two detailed ambient vibration
surveys of an instrumented 7-story RC building in Van
Nuys, California. This building is interesting to study
because it was severely damaged by the Northridge earth-
quake of 17 January 1994 ML 6:4; R 1:5 km and its
aftershocks, and because its response to the Northridge
earthquake, as well as to other earthquakes (Fig. 1), was
recorded by permanent strong motion instrumentation.
394 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 2. (continued).
The purpose of the surveys was to nd whether the damage
could be detected using established analysis procedures, and
to search for new procedures for damage detection in struc-
tures using the detailed ambient noise data from these
experiments. A detailed survey of the damage was also
conducted at the time these two tests took place, and has
been published elsewhere [25]. We rst describe the build-
ing and the two ambient vibration surveys, and then present
the results of the two surveys. At the end, we discuss the
results and draw general conclusions within the context of
all the analyses of this building completed to this date.
2. Description of the building
2.1. Location
The 7-story RC hotel building analyzed in this paper
(VN7SH in short) is located in the city of Van Nuys of
the Los Angeles metropolitan area (at 34.2218N and
118.4718W, in central San Fernando Valley, NW from
downtown Los Angeles). Fig. 1 shows San Fernando Valley
and the building location relative to the major freeways. Part
(a) also shows the horizontal projections of the fault planes
of 1971 San Fernando and 1994 Northridge earthquakes
[26,27] both of which damaged the building, the epicenters
of two Northridge aftershocks, and directions and epicentral
distances to seven other earthquakes recorded in the build-
ing [5,6]. Part (b) shows the distribution of damaged (red-
tagged) buildings (the gray zones) [28] and reported breaks
in water pipes (the black dots) [29] in the valley caused by
the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and the contours show
areas with estimated peak horizontal ground velocity
vm . 150 cm/s, drawn after Trifunac and Todorovska [30].
Their interpretation is that, except within the vm . 150 cm/s
contours, the ground within the gray zones responded essen-
tially linearly, and within the white zones (where many pipe
breaks occurred) it responded nonlinearly. The VN7SH site
is on the border between the gray and white zones.
The ground motion from the 1994 Northridge earthquake
in the area surrounding the building had relatively small
horizontal transient peak accelerations, a, velocities, v,
and displacements, d aR 2350 cm=s2 ; aT 225 cm=s2 ;
aV 600 cm=s2 ; vR 240 cm=s; vT 30 cm=s; vV
225 cm=s; dR 214 cm; dT 25 cm; dV 27 cm;
subscripts R, T and V refer to radial, transverse and vertical
components, dened relative to point 34.278N and
118.558W in the center of the ruptured area, see Fig. 1a,
and positive if away from the fault, clockwise and upward)
[3133]. In the vicinity of the building, the peak strain
factor was: horizontal ,10 22.6 and vertical ,10 23.2
[29,34]. The (rened) estimate of Modied Mercalli
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 395

Fig. 3. Schematic representation of damage: (top frame D (North view), and (bottom) frame A (south view). The sensor locations for channels 18 and 13 of
strong motion recorders (oriented towards North), are also shown (see Refs. [5,6]).

intensity at the site was VIII [29,35]. The site is located on
undifferentiated Holocene alluvium, uncemented and
unconsolidated, with thickness ,30 m, and age
,10,000 years [30]. The average shear wave velocity in
the top 30 m of soil is 300 m/s.
2.2. Design and site characteristics
The VN7SH was designed in 1965, constructed in 1966
[3638], and served as a hotel at the time of the 1994 North-
ridge earthquake. Fig. 2 shows: (a) a plan view of a typical
oor; (b) a plan view of the foundation layout; (c) a side
view of the building frame; and (d) a typical soil-boring log
data at the building site. The building is 62 150 ft in plan
(1 ft 30.48 cm). The typical framing consists of columns
spaced at 20 ft centers in the transverse direction and 19 ft
centers in the longitudinal direction. Spandrel beams
surround the perimeter of the structure. Lateral forces in
each direction are resisted by interior column-slab frames
and exterior column spandrel beam frames. The added stiff-
ness in the exterior frames associated with the spandrel
beams creates exterior frames that are roughly twice as
stiff as interior frames. With the exception of some light
framing members supporting the stairway and elevator
openings, the structure is essentially symmetric. Except
for two small areas at the ground oor, covered by 1-story
canopies, the plan congurations of each oor, including the
roof, are the same. The oor system is RC at slab, 10 in.
thick at the second oor, 8.5 in. thick at the third to seventh
oors and 8 in. thick at the roof. The north side of the
building, along column line D (Fig. 2a), has four bays of
brick masonry walls located between the ground and the
396 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 4. Experiment I: position of the instruments along frame C.
second oor at the East end of the structure. Nominal 1 in.
expansion joints separate the walls from the underside of the
second oor spandrel beams. Although none of the wall
elements described are designed as a part of the lateral
force-resisting system, they do contribute in varying degrees
to the stiffness of the structure
The building is situated on recent alluvium. The soil-
boring log in Fig. 2d shows that the underlying soil consists
primarily of ne sandy silts and silty ne sands. The foun-
dation system (Fig. 2b) consists of 38 in. deep pile caps,
supported by groups of two to four poured-in-place 24 in.
diameter RC friction piles. These are centered under the
main building columns. All the pile caps are connected by
a grid of beams. Each pile is roughly 40 ft long and has
design capacity of over 100 kips vertical load and up to
20 kips lateral load (1 kip 4448.2 N). The structure is
constructed of regular weight RC [36].
2.3. Earthquake damage
The ML 6:6 San Fernando earthquake of 9 February 1971
(Fig. 1a) [26] caused minor structural damage [36]. Epoxy was
used to repair spalled concrete of the second oor beam
column joints on the North side and East end of the building.
The nonstructural damage, however, was extensive and about
80 percent of all repair cost was used on xing the drywall
partitions, bathroom tiles and on plumbing xtures. The
recorded peak accelerations in the building were: 0.13g (L),
0.24g (T) and 0.18g (V) at the base, and 0.32g (L), 0.39g (T)
and 0.22g (V) at the roof, along the longitudinal (L), transverse
(T) and vertical (V) axes of symmetry.
The ML 6:4 Northridge earthquake of 17 January 1994
(Fig. 1a) [27] severely damaged the building, and it was
declared as unsafe and red-tagged by the Los Angeles Hous-
ing Authorities. The structural damage was extensive in the
exterior north (D) and south (A) frames, designed to take
most of the lateral load in the longitudinal direction. Severe
shear cracks occurred at the middle columns of frame A,
near the contact with the spandrel beam of the fth oor
(Fig. 3). Those cracks signicantly decreased the axial,
moment, and shear capacity of the columns. The shear
cracks which appeared in the north (D) frame on the third
and fourth oors, and the damage of columns D2, D3 and
D4 on the rst oor caused minor to moderate changes in
the capacity of these structural elements. No major damage
of the interior longitudinal (B and C) frames was noticed.
There was no visible damage in the slabs and around the
foundation. The nonstructural damage was signicant.
Almost every guestroom suffered considerable damage.
Severe cracks were noticed in the masonry brick walls,
and in the exterior cement plaster. The recorded peak accel-
erations in the building were: 0.46g (L), 0.40g (T) and 0.28g
(V) at the base, and 0.59g (L) and 0.58g (T) at the roof,
along the longitudinal (L), transverse (T) and vertical (V)
axes of symmetry (there were no sensors installed on the
roof to measure vertical motions).
Photographs and detailed description of the damage from
the Northridge earthquake can be found in Ref. [25], and an
analysis of the relationship between the observed damage
and the change in equivalent vertical shear wave velocity in
the building can be found in Ref. [3]. A discussion on the
extent to which this damage has contributed to the changes
in the apparent period of the soilstructure system can be
found in Refs. [5,6].
3. Description of the experiments and data processing
methods
Two ambient vibration surveys were conducted, both
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 5. Experiment I: position of instruments on the ground oor.
while the building was damaged from the 1994 Northridge
earthquake and its aftershocks, and was not in use. The
structural damage was extensive in the exterior longitudinal
North (D) and South (A) frames (Figs. 2a, c and 3), and the
changes of stiffness in the damaged areas implied changes in
the structural system. The rst experiment took place on 4
5 February 1994, approximately two and a half weeks
following the Northridge main event of 17 January. The
second experiment was on 1920 April, 1994, three months
following the Northridge main event, and one month
following one of the larger aftershocks (20 March
1994, M 5:2: The damage observed at the time of
each of the experiments was photographed and docu-
mented [25].
3.1. Measuring equipment
A PC based data acquisition system and six transdu-
cers were used: four Ranger SS-1 and two old Earth
Sciences Ranger seismometers. This equipment is
described in detail in Ref. [39]. For both experiments,
measurements were taken along longitudinal frame C, at
all the nine columns, on each oor, and in three direc-
tions of motion: longitudinal (EW), transverse (NS)
and vertical. Three of the Ranger SS-1 seismometers
were used to measure the building response, and two
of the old Earth Sciences Ranger seismometers and
the fourth Ranger SS-1 seismometers were used to
measure the motions at the reference sites on the ground
oor. For each experiment, two calibration tests were
conducted (one at the beginning and the other one at
the end of the experiment), for two horizontal and for
vertical position of the transducers. These tests consisted
of placing all the six instruments close to each other, and
simultaneously recording. The purpose of these tests was
relative comparison of the recorded amplitudes, which
differed due to differences in sensitivity and instrument
constants. The duration of each of the recordings was
about 3 min, and the sampling rate was set to
400 points/s.
397
3.2. Instrumentation layout
3.2.1. Experiment I
Fig. 4 shows the location of the measuring points along a
longitudinal cross-section of the building. The measuring
points were along longitudinal frame C, at all nine columns,
and on each oor. The order in which the measurements
were carried out was from top to bottom and from East to
West (A1, A2, A3; B1, B2, B3; up to Y1, Y2, Y3, as
shown in Fig. 4). We will refer in this paper to the location
of a measuring point in the building by the one letter code
for the longitudinal frame and the one digit code for the
transverse frame to which the column closest to the trans-
ducer belongs. It was impossible to position instruments
near column C9 on all the oors because the bathtubs
were located next to this column, and all measurements
related to location C9 were actually recorded about
0.7 m to the West. Unfortunately, the instrument at
column C4 on the roof was not working while EW
motion was recorded. This omission was discovered
during the analysis of the recorded data, too late to
repeat the measurement.
Three reference points were used, all at the ground oor,
marked by R in Fig. 5. For the vertical motions, two of the
old Earth Sciences Ranger seismometers were used [39].
These were placed near columns A2 and D2 on the ground
oor and were oriented always to measure vertical response.
As reference instrument for all the horizontal recordings, a
Ranger SS-1 seismometer was used, located at transverse
frame 2, between longitudinal frames B and C, also on the
ground oor, and oriented towards West or towards North.
The rst calibration test (at the beginning of the experi-
ment) was done on the SW stairway, at the fth oor, and
the second one (at the and of the experiment) on the ground
oor, between transverse frames 1 and 2 and longitudinal
frames B and C. Both calibration tests gave consistent
values of the sensitivity ratios [39].
The PC based data acquisition system was located on the
fth oor. The transducers were placed either directly on the
concrete, or on the ceramic tiles (carpets and other oor
398 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411

Fig. 6. Schematic representation of the structure and location of damage and of wooden braces as seen at the time of Experiment II (19 April 1994).

covers were removed during measurement). The motion
was recorded for about 3 min, at sampling rate
400 points/s.
The experiment was carried out continuously from the
morning of 4 February until the morning of 5 February
1994. During this time, strong wind (about 50 km/hour)
was blowing intermittently. The temperature was in the
range from 8 to 158C. It was raining the night before, and
the rain stopped at about 6:00 a.m. on 4 February. It was a
week-day (Friday), and typical heavy trafc was moving
along the San Diego Freeway (I-405), 100200 m to the
West from the building site (see Fig. 1). At the roof of the
building, the air-conditioning equipment was working
continuously. The elevators were not in use. There was no
running water in the building, but electricity was on.
3.2.2. Experiment II
This experiment was carried out on Tuesday and Wednes-
day, 19 and 20 April 1994, three months after the 17 Janu-
ary, Northridge California Earthquake, and one month after
a strong aftershock with epicenter at 1 km from the building
(20 March 1994, M 5:2; Fig. 1a). The building was
restrained between the two experiments. Wooden braces
were installed to increase the structural capacity near the
areas of structural damage (Fig. 6). Braces were placed in
the rst three or four stories at selected spans in the exterior

Fig. 7. Experiment II: position of instruments along frame C.

 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 399

Fig. 8. Experiment II: position of instruments on: (a) third; (b) fth; and (c) seventh oors.

Fig. 9. Experiment II: position of instruments on the ground oor.

400 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 10. Sample transfer-functions: (a) west motion recording at fth oor,
column C5; and (b) north motion recording at fth oor, column C9.
longitudinal frames (A and D). Only the rst oor of the
interior longitudinal frames was restrained. We do not know
when the addition of the braces was completed, and whether
this preceded the aftershock on 20 March. However, we did
observe that the width of the cracks, especially the shear
cracks in the south (A) frame, became larger (relative to our
rst inspection on February 4). No new structural damage
was noticed in the building or around its foundation. There
were no braces added to the transverse frames. Fig. 6 shows
the location of structural damage and the braces as observed
on 19 April 1994. The size of the hinges is proportional to
the level of damage.
Fig. 7 shows the location of the measuring points along a
vertical cross-section of the building (along longitudinal
frame C). As in Experiment I, the order of the measurements
was from top to bottom and from East to West (A1, A2, A3;
B1, B2, B3; Y1, Y2, Y3), and the measurements at
column 9 were made at a point about 0.7 m West from the
ideal location. The motions on the ground oor were also
measured in detail. The measuring points were at each
column, and all three components of motion were recorded.
At the third, fth and seventh oors, measurements in verti-
cal direction were carried out along transverse frames 2, 5
and 8 (see Fig. 8).
The location of the three reference points on the ground
oor is marked by R in Fig. 9. The two Earth Sciences
Ranger seismometers were placed at locations A5 and D5,
and always recorded vertical motions (up). The reference
point for horizontal motions was at the location B2 and was
oriented along the longitudinal (EW) or transverse (NS)
directions.
As part of this experiment, detailed measurements of
ambient noise in the parking lot surrounding the building
were also carried out. Motions were recorded in all three
directions (north, east, and up) at 46 points surrounding the
building, within 1520 m around the structure. A detailed
description of this part of the experiment and analysis of the
recorded amplitudes and phases can be found in Ref. [40]
and will not be repeated here.
The rst calibration test (at the beginning of the experi-
ment) was performed on the seventh oor, at the northwest
corner of the structure, near column D1. The second test (at
the end of the experiment) was performed on the ground
oor, between longitudinal frames B and C and transverse
frames 1 and 2.
The PC based data acquisition system was located on the
ground oor. The transducers were also placed either
directly on the concrete, ceramic tiles, or onto the asphalt
for the outside measurements. Motion was recorded for
about 3 min, at a sampling rate of 400 points/s.
The experiment was carried out continuously from noon
of 19 April (Tuesday), until 9 p.m., on 20 April (Wednes-
day) 1994. Those were quiet, sunny days with temperature
in the range from 12 to 258C. The building was not in use,
and except for electricity, facilities were not available (no
elevators, air-conditioning, or running water).
3.3. Data processing methods
The data processing procedure described in Ref. [39]was
followed. Briey, rst, Fourier spectra were computed for
each record by FFT (following amplitude correction from
the calibration tests), and then the transfer-function ampli-
tudes were computed for each measuring point and compo-
nent of motion, with respect to the appropriate reference
point on the ground oor. The Fourier amplitude spectra
were smoothed before the division (with Rs 2 for hori-
zontal and Rs 5 for vertical motions; [39]). Fig. 10 shows
typical transfer-functions (longitudinal and transverse
motions recorded at columns C5 and C9, on the fth oor;
see Fig. 2a).
The transfer-function amplitudes were not smoothed.
The phase angles for the transfer-functions were also
computed. In drawing the apparent shape-functions, the
phase angle was approximated by 0 or by p. To determine
the shape functions, in some cases, phase lags were also
computed for neighboring measurement points, via the
cross-correlation function of band-pass ltered data
(0.2 Hz band-width) centered at the modal frequencies.
Cross-correlation functions were also used to check
selected amplitudes of the response. This method was
particularly useful for analyses of the recordings at points
C1 and C9. In addition to the previously identied natural
frequencies, the Fourier amplitude spectra of these record-
ings displayed additional peaks, which we believe were
due to electrical motors operating on the western end of
the roof. These peaks were close to the peaks associated
with the natural frequencies of the structure, and caused
difculties in the computation and interpretation of the
transfer-functions.
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 401

Fig. 11. Experiment I: longitudinal (EW) apparent modes of vibration: (a) rst, f 1:0 Hz; (b) second, f 3:5 Hz; (c) third, f 5:7 Hz; and (d) fourth,
f 8:1 Hz:

Fig. 12. Experiment I: transverse (NS) apparent modes of vibration: (a) rst transverse, f 1:4 Hz; (b) rst torsional, f 1:6 Hz; (c) second transverse,
f 3:9 Hz; and (d) second torsional, f 4:9 Hz:
402 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 13. Experiment II: longitudinal (EW) apparent modes of vibration: (a) rst, f 1:1 Hz; (b) second,f 3:7 Hz; (c) third, f 5:7 Hz : and (d) fourth,
f 8:5 Hz:
4. Results
In this paper, we present the system frequencies deter-
mined from the ambient noise data, and selected plots of
normalized building displacements at these frequencies.
Tables with the numerical values of these displacements
and a complete set of displacement plots can be found in
Ref. [4].
Only system frequencies corresponding to the rst
four longitudinal and to the rst four transverse modes
of vibration could be identied from the transfer-func-
tions of recorded horizontal motions (the signal-to-noise
ratio was small for frequencies higher than those). No
vertical modes of vibration could be identied from the
transfer-functions of recorded vertical motions. In the
following, we show normalized mode-shapes corre-
sponding to the identied longitudinal, transverse and
torsional modes of vibration. We also show, for the
rst torsional mode, two-dimensional displacements in
the plane of each oor, and, for the rst transverse
mode, two-dimensional displacements in the plane of
three transverse building cross-sections.
We note that the peaks of the Experiment II transfer-
functions were smaller by 30% than those of Experiment I
transfer-functions, even though the measuring and reference
points, and the instrumentation and data processing proce-
dures were the same. All the calibration tests gave consistent
results for the frequency dependent sensitivity ratios for all
sensors.
4.1. Identied system frequencies and mode-shapes
From Experiment I measurements, for longitudinal (E
W) vibrations, system frequencies f 1.0, 3.5, 5.7 and
8.1 Hz were identied. The corresponding normalized
mode-shapes (to unit maximum amplitude) are shown in
Fig. 11. For the rst three, the signals were very clear in
all EW recordings, and for the fourth there were difcul-
ties in dening the phase of motion (due to small signal-to-
noise ratio). For transverse (NS) vibrations, the identied
system frequencies were f 1.4, 1.6, 3.9 and 4.9 Hz. The
corresponding mode-shapes are plotted in Fig. 12. Frequen-
cies f 1.4 and 3.9 Hz correspond to translational modes,
and f 1.6 and 4.9 Hz correspond to torsional modes. The
latter could also be identied from the records of longitu-
dinal vibrations. Fig. 12 however, shows only the transverse
components of the displacements of the torsional modes.
For the rst torsional mode, it was difcult to determine
the phase lags in the transverse recordings at locations C4
and C6, due to the small signal to noise ratio. The centers
of rotation (points near column 5, where the transverse
response changes phase) were determined from the phase
angles of the transfer-functions, and also from the cross-
correlation functions. The locations of these centers may
not be accurate for the lower oors (below sixth).
We note that the computed transfer-functions for the
ground oor were very similar to those for the calibration
tests. They were almost constant, with amplitudes close to
unity. Because the modal displacements were normalized to
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Fig. 14. Experiment II: transverse (NS) apparent modes of vibration: (a) rst transverse, f 1:4 Hz; (b) rst torsional, f 1:6 Hz; (c) second transverse,
f 4:2 Hz; and (d) second torsional, f 4:9 Hz:
unit maximum amplitude, at the ground oor they vary for
different modes. They are small for the lower frequency
modes and large for the higher frequency modes, because
the former are excited more and are associated with larger
structural response relative to the ground. We also note that,
because of the high stiffness of the slabs (connecting the
frames) in their own planes, the measured response of long-
itudinal frame C could describe the response of all the
longitudinal frames, including damaged frames A and D,
and for both horizontal components of motion.
From Experiment II measurements, for longitudinal (E
W) vibrations, system frequencies f 1.1, 3.7, 5.7 and
8.5 Hz were identied, and the corresponding mode shapes
are shown in Fig. 13. For transverse (NS) vibrations, the
identied system frequencies were f 1.4, 1.6, 4.2 and
4.9 Hz, and the corresponding mode shapes are shown in
Fig. 14. For f 8.5 Hz, the signal-to-noise ratio was small,
and it was difcult to analyze the phases.
4.2. Two-dimensional displacements along the oor slabs
migration of centers of torsion
As mentioned earlier, the rst torsional mode f
1:6 Hz could be identied from both the transverse and
the longitudinal vibrations, and therefore both longitudinal
and transverse components of the modal displacement could
403
be determined. Fig. 15 shows the modal displacements in
the plane of each oor. Parts (a) and (b) show, respectively,
results from Experiments I and II. We recall that these
measurements were taken along longitudinal frame C, and
that most severely damaged were columns 7 and 8 of long-
itudinal frame A (south of frame C) and at the fth oor
(columns 3, 4 and 5 were also cracked). We also recall that
braces were added to the damaged building before Experi-
ment II (see Fig. 6).
It can be seen that the RC oor slabs, 8.5 in. thick and stiff
in their own plane, translate and rotate about vertical axes.
While the transverse component of motion is dominant, the
response in the longitudinal direction is also signicant,
especially for the top oors. It can be noticed that during
Experiment I (Fig. 15a) the transverse component of motion
changes phase but the longitudinal does not. Also, the
amplitudes of the longitudinal displacements are not propor-
tional to the transverse displacements, as it would be
expected for a clean rotation (maximum displacements
at the end columns for both directions of motion, and almost
zero displacements at the centers of rotation). The longitu-
dinal response of the middle columns (C4, C5 and C6) is
clearly seen at each oor. This indicates coupling of the
torsional response for this mode with the longitudinal
response. The phase of the longitudinal response of the
upper oors (roof, seventh and sixth) is opposite from the
404 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411

Fig. 15. Vector displacement amplitudes in the planes of the oor slabs (at second through seventh oors and roof) at the frequency of the rst torsional mode
f 1:6 Hz : (a) Experiment I; and (b) Experiment II. The oval gray zones show approximate locations of the centers of rotation. Notice in part (a) the jump
in the position of the centers of rotation between fth and sixth oors.

one at the lower oors (third and fourth), and it was difcult
to dene for the second and fth oors.
The shaded oval zones in Fig. 15a illustrate the loci of the
centers of rotation for the oor slabs, determined by drawing
a normal to the displacement vectors. Due to measurement
errors and some deformation of the oor slabs, the center
of rotation for a oor slab is not a point but a zone.
The centers of rotation are located south of frame C
at the upper oors (above the fth), and north of frame C at
the lower oors (fth and below). At the lower oors, they
are located close to the middle (column 5), and then they
jump to the east part of the frame at the sixth oor.
Between sixth oor and the roof, they move again towards
the center of the frame. The jump from south to north is
between the fth and sixth oors, exactly where the most
severe damage occurred (Fig. 3).
Searching for possible scenarios that explain why exter-
nal (south) frame A was more damaged than external (north)
frame D, the above measurements might be interpreted to
indicate the following. Once shear cracks occurred in the
fth oor columns, the energy associated with torsional
motion was rst dissipated in the newly formed hinges.
Then either the increased eccentricity of the response [40],
or simultaneous excitation of the rst torsional and the rst
transverse modes, or both resulted in nally the external
frame A being more damaged than the external frame D.
The results of Experiment II (Fig. 15b) show that, in
contrast to Experiment I, the centers of rotation are all
south of frame C, and are all near the center of the frame
(near column line 5). This may be explained by the added
braces (see Fig. 6) which have eliminated torsional eccen-
tricities caused by the damaged columns at fth oor and
mainly along (south) frame A.
4.3. Two-dimensional displacements along transverse
building cross-sections
As the building vibrates, most of the deformations occur
in the columns. Consequently, the oor slabs deform also in
the vertical direction. The transverse and longitudinal
modes could also be seen in the vertical response, especially
at the upper oors.
Fig. 16 shows two-dimensional, in-plane motions of
transverse frames 2, 5 and 8 at the frequency of the
rst transverse mode (part (a), f 1:4 Hz; and at the
frequency of the rst torsional mode (part (b), f
1:6 Hz: The vertical displacements have been exagger-
ated by a factor of two to emphasize the deformation of
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 405

Fig. 16. Experiment IIin-plane displacements of transverse frames 2, 5 and 8: (a) at the frequency of the rst transverse mode f 1:4 Hz; and (b) at the
frequency of the rst torsional mode f 1:6 Hz:

the columns. A noticeable vertical displacement is seen 5. Summary and conclusions

only at column A5 of the fth oor, and only at the
frequency of the rst transverse mode (see Figs. 12 and
14, parts (a)). This column experienced large shear cracks
(Fig. 3) during the Northridge earthquake, and the large
vertical displacement in Fig. 16 indicates decreased axial
capacity of this column. No large vertical displacement is
noticeable of column A5 at the seventh oor, presumably
because of participation of the neighboring frames and
slabs. The vertical displacements of transverse frames 2
and 8 were small, as it would be expected, because the
columns in these frames suffered less (frame 8) or no
(frame 2) damage (Fig. 3). No unusual vertical displace-
ments of the transverse frames 2, 5 and 8 could be seen at
the rst torsional frequency f 1:6 Hz; Fig. 16, part (b))
[4].
5.1. Summary of the results of the two ambient vibration
surveys
Both ambient vibration surveys took place after the build-
ing was damaged from the 17 January 1994 Northridge
earthquake and its aftershocks and before it was repaired.
The structural damage was extensive in the exterior long-
itudinal frames (A and D; Fig. 3). The building was declared
unsafe and was not in use at the time of the experiments.
Experiment I was conducted on 45 February 1994,
approximately two and a half weeks after the earthquake.
Experiment II was conducted on 1920 April 1994, three
months after the earthquake, and one month after the 20
March aftershock M 5:2: Between the two experiments,
406 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
Table 1
Frequencies of the longitudinal (EW) and transverse (NS) modes of vibration
Mode shapes EW f (Hz)
Experiment I Experiment II
February 94 April 94
1.0 1.1
3.5 3.7
5.7 5.7
8.1 8.5
the building was restrained temporarily by wooden braces
(Fig. 6).
The building has symmetric geometry and approximately
uniform distribution of mass and stiffness. It has thick and
heavy slabs, stiff in their own planes. Spandrel beams
connect the outside columns, and most of the lateral loads
are carried by the exterior frames. According to these char-
acteristics, its structural system cannot be described as a
weak beam-strong column system. In spite of its apparent
symmetry, the structure experienced strong torsional
response [40].
Table 1 shows the frequencies of the identied modes
(measured at interior longitudinal frame C) and sketches
of the corresponding mode-shapes. Values for the frequen-
cies are listed for each experiment. The percentage change
is given in the last column. Changes in the modal frequen-
cies were expected because of differences in the state of the
structure and of the underlying soil (addition of wooden
braces, and possible additional damage from the M 5:2
aftershock with epicenter at distance of only about 1.2 km).
Table 1 (left) shows that three out of the four identied
frequencies for longitudinal vibrations increased (the rst
one by 10 percent, and the second and fourth 6 and 5
percents), due to the addition of wooden braces, placed at
the longitudinal frames (Fig. 6). The frequency of the third
longitudinal mode was not affected. Table 1 (right) shows that
the frequencies of the rst transverse and rst torsional modes
did not change due the addition of braces, but the frequency of
the second purely transverse mode increased by 10 percents.
Df(%) Mode shapes NS f (Hz) Df (%)
Experiment I Experiment II
February 94 April 94
10 1.4 1.4 0
6 1.6 1.6 0
0 3.9 4.2 10
5 4.9 4.9 0
No characteristic frequencies and mode-shapes were
identied for vertical vibrations (the strong vertical motion
at f 0:5 Hz; observed during Experiment I was probably
due to vibrations caused by the electrical equipment in the
building). The transfer-function of the recorded vertical
motions had peaks at the frequencies of the longitudinal
and transverse modes. The vertical responses at these
frequencies, analyzed alone or combined with the corre-
sponding horizontal responses, may be useful for identica-
tion of the damage of the columns. Changes in the
amplitudes of the vertical responses (large vertical ampli-
tude of a column, implied loss of axial capacity) were
noticed near one of the damaged columns where ambient
noise was measured (column A5 at the fth oor). The
identication of the damaged structural members would
have been more complete had the vertical motions been
recorded at more points throughout the structure.
The purpose of the test was to nd out whether highly
localized damage in structural members could be detected
by ambient vibration surveys. The results in this paper show
that this cannot be done with the common procedures.
Analyses of complex building behavior (with interaction
of many structural components) require much higher spatial
resolution of recording. To detect severe and localized
column damage (e.g. about 0.5 m long plastic hinges),
ambient noise should be recorded at comparable separation
distances. Performing such detailed experiments may not be
feasible in most practical situations. Although loss of axial
capacity could be seen in the vertical response of the
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 407

damaged columns, moderate or weak damage of this kind vertical base recordings to separate the foundation rocking
will not be noticed in most ambient response surveys. More and translation due to soilstructure interaction from the
detailed surveys of ambient vibrations should be developed recorded (total) response. The rocking part of response
for damage detection, when the loss of strength is moderate was separated, only roughly, by low-pass ltering, thanks
and when the damage is less obvious. to the fact that the xed-base frequency of this building
appears to be much higher than the foundation rocking
5.2. Summary of results of other studies of this building frequency [5,6]. The ambient vibration analysis was parti-
cularly useful in the interpretation of nonlinear soilstruc-
Ambient vibration surveys are a useful tool to be used ture interaction using the earthquake response data.
along with other types of data and methods of analysis. This Fourier analysis: The transfer-functions between the
building is an interesting case study because three types of oor responses and the base response were calculated [5].
independent data are available: earthquake response data For the events for which the building response was large
over the period of 25 years, earthquake damage data for (San Fernando, Northridge, Landers and Whittier-Narrows),
two earthquakes, and ambient vibration data recorded in these transfer-functions had a broad peak at frequencies
the damaged building as well as in the ground around the much smaller than the fundamental xed-base frequency,
building [38,40]. In the following, we briey summarize our calculated from the structural characteristics or estimated
previous and other current work related to this building, and from the ambient vibration tests (.1.4 Hz for the NS
in the next section we present our general conclusions and direction and .1.0 Hz for the EW direction). This indicated
recommendations for future earthquake and ambient noise that the loss of stiffness could not be explained by nonli-
recording and analyses. nearity of the structure alone and its degradation due to
damage. We concluded that the nonlinearity of the soil
5.2.1. Nonlinear soilstructure interaction identication response contributed mainly to the nonlinear behavior of
The building was rst instrumented by the US Geological the overall system.
Survey, and then by the California Division of Mines and Timefrequency analysis: Nonlinear effects in the
Geology (CDMG). We gathered or processed records of the response of soilstructure stiffness depend on the level of
following earthquakes in this building, listed in chronologi- the excitation and also on the initial state of the system (e.g.
cal order (R is the epicentral distance) [5]: the state of the soil, such as degree of consolidation, water
content etc.). The building damage permanently changes the
system, but the soil can heal itself and recover the original
Earthquake Date M R (km) stiffness by settlement with time and dynamic compaction
from shaking during smaller events. Timefrequency analy-
San Fernando 02/09/1971 6.6 22
sis of all the earthquake records by two independent meth-
Whittier Narrows 10/01/1987 5.9 41
ods (short-time Fourier transform and zero-crossing
Whittier-Narrows Aft. 10/04/1987 5.3 38
analyses) showed that the system frequency changed, from
Pasadena 10/03/1988 4.9 32
earthquake to earthquake and during a particular earthquake
Montebello 06/12/1989 4.1 34
[6]. Figs. 17 and 18 show the instantaneous system
Malibu 01/19/1989 5.0 36
frequency fp on the abscissa and the peaks of the rocking
Sierra Madre 06/28/1991 5.8 44
angles u x t and u y t (band-pass ltered by Ormsby lters
Landers 06/28/1992 7.5 186
between 0.10.2 and 0.81.0 Hz). These gures show
Big Bear 06/28/1992 6.5 149
progressive reduction of fp with increasing amplitude of
Northridge 01/17/1994 6.5 1.5
response, but the reduction is not permanent. It is seen
Northridge Aft. 03/20/1994 5.2 1.2
that during both ambient vibration tests fp of the transverse
Northridge Aft. 12/06/1994 4.5 10.8
(NS) response is near 1.4 Hz, and close to the value for the
smallest earthquake motions (Montebello, 1989 earthquake;
As far as we know, the rst strong motion recording in Fig. 18). This suggests that the soilfoundationstructure
this building was of the 1968 Borrego Mountain earthquake, stiffness was regenerated by the weak shaking of the
but the processed data is not available at present. The 1971 Northridge aftershocks. For the longitudinal (EW) response,
San Fernando earthquake was recorded by three self- ambient vibration surveys indicate only partial recovery,
contained AR-240 (analog) triaxial accelerographs [41], from 0.40.6 Hz during Northridge to fp 11:1 Hz (note
and the other eventsby a 13 channel CR-1 recording that during the aftershock on March 20, 1994, fp ,
system (analog) and one SMA-1 triaxial accelerograph 1:31:4 Hz; see Fig. 17). The shift in fp from 1.0 Hz (45
[42]. The largest recorded response was of the 1994 event February 1994) to 1.1 Hz (1920 April 1994) was inter-
[25,40]. preted to have resulted in part from increase in the building
In Refs. [5,6] we present Fourier and timefrequency stiffness associated with temporary wooden braces, primar-
analysis of the earthquake response data. Unfortunately, ily along frames A and D (see Fig. 6). Consistent with this
there were neither free-eld recordings nor two or more interpretation is the fact that, for Experiment II, the peaks of
408 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411

Fig. 17. Peak amplitudes of u x (EW rocking acceleration) versus fp (apparent frequency of the soilfoundationstructure system), during 12 earthquakes. The
gray vertical lines show the apparent EW frequencies of the system response, as determined from Experiment I and Experiment II.

the transfer-functions were smaller by 30% than for
Experiment I, suggesting stiffer overall system at the
time of Experiment II. Figs. 17 and 18 also suggest
that the soil-pile foundation system during strong shaking
behaves as a nonlinear system with gap elements, which
open during strong motion and are closed by aftershock
excitations.
5.2.2. Other studies
Wave propagation in the building: In[3], we present an
analysis of wave propagation in the building from the
recorded acceleration earthquake response. By cross-corre-
lation and cross-spectrum analyses, we obtained estimates
of the velocity of waves propagating vertically along the
columns (,100 m/s) and horizontally along the oor slabs
(,2000 m/s). A comparison of results for different earth-
quakes showed a reduction of velocity in the areas of
severely damaged columns by the Northridge earthquake
(Fig. 3).
Micro-tremor motions of the ground surrounding the
building: At the time of Experiment II, we also recorded
motions at a grid of points in the parking lot surrounding the
building, and at the reference sites located on the ground
oor inside the building. The purpose was to detect some
characteristic ground deformation associated with soil
structure interaction for at least the fundamental transverse
f 1:4 Hz and longitudinal f 1:1 Hz modes of vibra-
tion (as in our study of Millikan Library [19]). We could not
see any peaks in the Fourier spectra of the motion around the
building that could be associated with the building rocking
or translation, because (as the analysis of the recorded data
showed) the foundation of this building was exible. We
did nd evidence of wave propagation and of deformation
of the building foundation during the passage of microtre-
mor waves. The overall pattern of the computed time delays
implied that the microtremor waves arrived primarily from
the west, and then scattered from and diffracted around the
building foundation. The computed time delays
 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411 409

Fig. 18. Peak amplitudes of u y (NS rocking acceleration) versus fp (apparent frequency of the soilfoundationstructure system), during 12 earthquakes. The
gray vertical line shows the apparent EW frequency of the system response, as determined from Experiment I and Experiment II.

corresponded to horizontal phase velocity of about 300 m/s,
consistent with the interpretation that micro-tremors are
high frequency Rayleigh waves propagating through shal-
low soil layers. The contours of time delays for vertical
motion also implied wave arrival from west and southwest,
with apparent phase velocities between 250 and 300 m/s.
The results of that analysis are presented in Ref. [40].
5.3. General conclusions and recommendations
The studies of the response of this building to ambient
noise and to earthquake shaking show the value of full-scale
experiments in describing dynamic characteristics of real,
three-dimensional structures. The results of these studies
can be used to guide future implementations of recording
systems in buildings (number of channels and their location
in the buildings), so that future building recordings provide
more valuable and complete information on the structural
performance during earthquakes.
The existing strong motion instrumentation in the
VN7SH building was not sufcient to estimate the rocking
response associated with soilstructure interaction, which
signicantly affected the response of the building. Addi-
tional recorders, placed at the opposite diagonal corners of
each oor, would have provided valuable information to
measure the rocking response (longitudinal and transverse)
and the foundation warping during the passage of seismic
waves. Free-eld recordings near the building would have,
as well, provided valuable information for analysis of the
building-foundation response.
The following simple and useful standard practice
is recommended for instrumentation of future buildings.
First, a three-dimensional ambient vibration test of the
building should be performed, similar, but not necessa-
rily as detailed as the test of the VN7SH building.
Based on the three-dimensional deformations and
mode shapes determined from these tests, a knowledge-
able committee, with expertise in full-scale testing of
410 S.S. Ivanovic et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 19 (2000) 391411
structures, should select the optimum number, location
and orientation of acceleration sensors. When necessary,
(after a moderate or a large earthquake) additional
ambient vibration tests can be performed, creating
updated nger-prints of the structural system. Such
nger-prints will document the state of the structure
preceding an earthquake and the subsequent changes.
The quality of the recorded data will enable numerous
new studies for better understanding of the earthquake
response of actual structures, and can be used for vali-
dation of analytical and numerical model procedures for
forward evaluation of structural response.
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