Seismic design force on nonstructural components based on a direct method for floor response spectrum

Abstract

In the Great East Japan Earthquake, many suspended ceilings were damaged and fell down. Nonstructural components such as suspended ceilings having large response magnification factors should be designed taking account of resonance. In this paper, a simple direct method for floor response spectrum is proposed and verified comparing with time history analysis. Based on the method, seismic design force on nonstructural components is determined by use of representative values of participation vectors of multistory buildings.