Abstract
The seismic performance of nonstructural components, including suspended ceiling systems, plays a significant role during and after an earthquake. Damage to these systems can leave buildings inoperable, causing economic losses and extensive downtime. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the response of these systems in order to enhance the seismic resilience of buildings. A series of full-scale system-level experiments conducted at the University of Nevada, Reno, Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation site aimed to investigate the seismic performance of integrated ceiling-piping-partition systems. In this paper, the seismic behavior of suspended ceiling systems is discussed. Experimental results include acceleration amplification factors for different ceiling configurations. In addition, fragility curves are presented for perimeter displacement, support axial force, and overall ceiling performance. Some major findings from this experiment show that the median acceleration amplification was 2.71 and that unseating of grid members in 22.2-mm (7/8-in.) wall angle configurations was one of the dominate failure modes.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0721399. This Grand Challenge (GC) project to study the seismic response of nonstructural systems is under the direction of M. Maragakis from the University of Nevada, Reno, and Co-Principal Investigator T. Hutchinson, A. Filiatrault, S. French, and B. Reitherman. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 4 • April 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2018
Accepted: Aug 24, 2018
Published online: Jan 24, 2019
Published in print: Apr 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jun 24, 2019
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