International joint research on the full-scale ten-story RC buildings tested at E-Defense shaking table

Seismic engineering has progressed quickly over the last 50 years, owing to the various experiments employed to study and clarify the basic response mechanisms of different structures at different levels of seismic excitation. The experimental observations have been used to develop numerical models and extend the knowledge gained through experiments, leading to improved design codes. Despite the extensive progress in earthquake engineering, there are still several issues that require further experimental and analytical studies. One is the seismic response of medium- to high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, which exhibit unique responses compared with lower low-rise structures. Experiments dealing with the seismic response of such buildings have mainly focused on the response of individual structural components or substructures. The tests of entire structures are rare and have typically been performed on a small scale because they are costly; they require capable technical equipment and highly trained personnel, which are only available in the largest testing centres in the world. Thus, tests have generally been conducted based on certain assumptions, limiting the scope of the studies. For example, owing to the reduced scale, some properties of the specimens have been distorted, demanding proper interpretations of the results and often requiring more assumptions. The full-scale experiments on seismically isolated mid-rise buildings are even rarer. Past earthquakes (e.g., in Chile in 2010) have also revealed the lack of knowledge concerning the seismic response of mid- and high-rise buildings. Numerous issues, such as the seismic response of RC walls, dual structures, RC joints, the effective width of RC slabs, etc., demand more attention and research. Notably, it is not clear how effective the various numerical models may be for analysing seismic responses in mid- to high-rise structures or how appropriate the design requirements may be in different design standards, let alone when and how they should be updated.