Vibration Studies of Nonstructural Components and Systems within a Full-Scale Building

In contrast to building structural components, very little is known about the dynamic behavior of nonstructural components and systems (NCSs) within buildings. These systems come in such a variety of types that it can be overwhelming from an analysis perspective. Furthermore, an overarching issue is the limited test data available for characterizing their dynamic behavior. In this paper, an interior monitoring system is presented and used to monitor the response of a variety of NCSs within a full-scale building subjected to forced-vibration loading. The remotely operated monitoring system consists of an integrated array of off-the-shelf components, including; analog and digital (camera) sensors, acquisition PCs, and GPS synchronization equipment. Within the test building, the NCSs monitored include: (1) bench and shelf furnishing systems, (2) furnishing mounted equipment, and (3) piping systems. Results from the building vibration tests indicate that the interior furnishing systems considered here are very stiff with first mode frequencies in the range of 7–11 Hz and damping ratios between 4%–13%. Motion amplification at the top of the furnishing systems ranged between 1.5 and 4 times the floor level motion. These measurements highlight the importance of considering the transmissibility characteristics of building furnishings when estimating building NCS dynamic response.