Seismic Response of a Large‐Span Roof Diaphragm

Abstract Records obtained from the West Valley College Gymnasium in Saratoga, California during the 1984 Morgan Hill earthquake are used to study the dynamic behavior of the overall gymnasium as well as its flexible diaphragm. The ground‐level motions recorded in the two orthogonal axes of the structure differ considerably in peak acceleration and amplify by approximately 1.5 times at the roof edges and by 4‐5 times at the center of the diaphragm. The diaphragm responds with a frequency of approximately 4 Hz in both orthogonal axes. A simple finite‐element model is used to match the fundamental frequency of the diaphragm with that from the records. Using this model and the ground‐level motions as input, the diaphragm center displacements are calculated by varying the structural damping. Best comparisons are obtained for 5% damping. These results are discussed in terms of the code provisions.