ABSTRACT
This paper describes a comparison between the calculated seismic response and the measured seismic response of a 1/4 scale model of a containment building in Lotung, Taiwan. The seismic response of the containment model is calculated using a procedure typical of that employed by NNC Ltd for the SSI analysis of buildings. The calculations are performed 'blind' (ie. without any details of the recorded response being available) and the predicted seismic response is then compared with the recorded response. The model of the soil is then refined using the results of forced vibration tests performed on the Lotung containment model and the response predicted using the refined soil model is compared also with the recorded response. The results of this comparative study show that the typical SSI methods of analysis used by NNC Ltd predict the frequency of the spectral peaks accurately and produce conservative results. The results indicate that the main source of conservatism is inherent in the method used to model the soil and take account of embedment effects.
