An Experimental Method for Evaluating Dynamic Parameters of a Real 21-Story Residential Building

The present study is focused on experimental identification of a 21-story reinforced concrete residential building with dynamic parameters at each story, based on measurements conducted under ambient dynamic loadings and further analytical evaluation. These loadings include distant explosions, and natural ground excitations such as weak earthquakes, wind loads, operation of mechanical systems within the building, etc. The measurements were carried out using sensors and a seismograph, installed independently on each floor of the building. The primary objective of the study is to identify the building’s natural vibration periods and mode shapes, as well as to calculate the story stiffness within the linear elastic behavior. Additionally, the structure’s response to a remote explosion, occurring hundreds of kilometers away and generating a weak ground motion, was recorded. This event enabled comparison between the actual dynamic response of the building and corresponding analytical results. The proposed method offers a practical and effective tool for structural health monitoring, allowing for the detection of changes in the structural dynamic parameters of the building. At the same time, in certain cases, a difference between experimental and numerical results appeared. This problem requires further experimental and numerical investigation.