Scaled Shaking Table Tests Simulating the Damage of the School Gymnasium in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake

Abstract

The transverse out-of-plane response of the RC moment frame on the arena floor damaged a school gymnasium that was expected to function as a natural disaster shelter. It was composed of heavy RC substructure and a light steel roof, which partially collapsed, resulting in the facility's permanent destruction in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. This study describes scaled shaking table tests that simulate out-of-plane response-induced damage to the RC moment frame of the school gymnasium during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and verifies the damage mechanism proposed by the previous numerical simulation and the efficiency of a response control by the friction damper support. Furthermore, the study validates two methods for evaluating the response of the RC moment frame and the overall buckling strength of the roof truss member with semi-rigid joints.