Seismic Analysis of Guang Dong Science Centre With or Without Base-Isolation: A Case Study

Abstract

Guang Dong Science Centre (GDSC), located in the west of Guang Zhou Mega University City, is currently one of the most important landmark buildings in Guang Zhou of Guang Dong province. The special form and style, and the use of mega-frame and long-span internal space of the building, not surprisingly, presented great challenges for structural engineers. In particular, its dynamic performance under earthquake or wind actions requires intensive research. In this study, a detailed seismic analysis of GDSC has been conducted to investigate GDSC’s seismic performance with or without the application of base-isolation. In this analysis, earthquake spectra generated for Guang Zhou region according to Chinese Code and Component Attenuation Method (CAM) were adopted to calculate the lateral displacements and distributions of base column forces. Furthermore, elastic and inelastic time-history seismic analyses were carried out using scaled accelerograms representing earthquake events with return periods of 50-year, 475- year, and 2475-years, respectively. The computational results indicate that the building with mega-frame system possesses substantial reserved strength for resisting earthquake loads, and the structure could satisfy the design requirements under severe seismic events. The output of this study is of considerable interest and practical use to professionals and researchers involving in the design of mega-frame buildings.