Analytical Simulation of the Performance of Ceiling-Sprinkler Systems in Shake Table Tests Performed on a Full-Scale 5-Story Building

摘要

A ceiling system is composed of interlocking grid members including 4ft-long and 2ft-long cross-tees. These members are held together at each intersection by interlocking clips attached to both ends of the members. A series of component-level experiments were performed on such members. The 4ft. and 2ft. cross-tees were subjected to tensile and compressive forces to obtain their axial strength and stiffness characteristics. Tension and compression tests were also performed on the 2ft. and 4ft. clips to define their strength. Finally, the behavior of the interlocked cross-tees under cyclic axial load was investigated until failure of the connection. The experimental results were used to calibrate an integrated OpenSees model of a ceiling-sprinkler assembly that was tested at the E-Defense shake table facility in 2011. A full-scale, five-story steel moment frame building was subjected to a number of biaxial and triaxial excitations. In these experiments more than 900ft2 of suspended ceiling with lay-in tiles was installed on the 4th and 5th floors of the building, along with 100ft. of sprinkler piping. The results from the analytical simulation were compared to the experimental results. This research promotes the experimentally validated computer simulation of non-structural systems and establishes a modeling methodology for future studies.