A HAND METHOD FOR PREDICTING THE STABILITY OF REGULAR BUILDINGS, USING FREQUENCY MEASUREMENTS

摘要

In combining two theoretical methods developed for the stability and frequency analyses of buildings and making use of experimental data obtained from the measurement of the fundamental frequency, a simple and reliable procedure is presented for the determination of the global critical load of regular building structures. It can be used for checking the stability and assessing the structural performance of existing buildings. The procedure is based on a closed-form solution and design tables facilitating prompt calculation and can be carried out in minutes. The experimental data needed for the procedure is the fundamental frequency of the building, which can be obtained from standard measurements. The validity of the procedure is not dependent on the height of the building; it is equally applicable to low, medium-rise and tall buildings. The results of tests on a small-scale model are given for verification purposes. A worked example shows the easy use of the method.