Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 2, No.

4, December 2012 91
ISSN 2277-5056 | 2012 Bonfring
Abstract--- Open ground storey buildings have
consistently shown poor performance during past earthquakes
across the world. For example during 1999 Turkey, 1999
Taiwan and 2003 Algeria earthquakes, a significant number of
them have collapsed. For instance, the city of Ahmedabad
alone has about 25,000 five-storey buildings and about 1,500
eleven-storey buildings; majority of them have open ground
storey. There are huge numbers of such buildings in urban
areas of moderate to severe seismic zones of the country. The
collapse of more than a hundred reinforced concrete frame
buildings with in Ahmedabad (~225km away from epi-centre)
during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake has emphasised that such
buildings with open ground storey are extremely vulnerable
under earthquake shaking. The presence of walls in upper
storeys makes them much stiffer than the open ground storey.
Still Multi storey reinforced concrete buildings are continuing
to be built in India which has open ground storeys. These
buildings are not designed as per the earthquake resistant
design. It is imperative to know the behaviour of soft storey
building to the seismic load for designing various retrofit
strategies. Hence it is important to study and understand the
response of such buildings and make such buildings
earthquake resistant based on the study to prevent their
collapse and to save the loss of life and property. Based on the
above an attempt is made in this paper to assess the seismic
performance of the soft storey reinforced concrete building by
shake table test.
Keywords--- Infill-Wall, Reinforced Concrete Frame,
Shake Table Test, Soft Storey


I. INTRODUCTION
EVASTATING earthquakes strike at a regular interval in
various parts of India. About 60% of Indias land area is
reported to be under the threat of moderate to severe seismic
hazard. Reinforced concrete frame buildings are built in India
which has open ground storeys. Owing to the high cost of land
and small sizes of plots, parking is often accommodated in the
ground floor area of the building. Frame bays in the ground
floor are not infilled with masonry walls, as it is done in the
upper stories. These buildings are normally not designed as
per the earthquake resistant design proposed in the BIS codes.

J. Prakashvel, Senior Technical Officer, CSIR-SERC, E-
mail:pra_vel@yahoo.com
C. UmaRani, Associate professor, Anna University, E-
mail:umarani@annauniv.edu
K. Muthumani, Chief Scientist, CSIR-SERC, E-mail:kmm@serc.res.in

DOI: 10.9756/BIJIEMS.1662
Past earthquakes have proved that these are highly vulnerable.
There are huge numbers of such buildings in urban areas of
moderate to severe seismic zones of the country. Hence it is
important to study and understand the response of such
buildings and make such buildings earthquake resistant based
on the study to prevent their collapse and to save the loss of
life and property. An attempt is made in this paper to overview
the major issues associated with soft storey buildings.
1.1 Basic Features and the Behaviour of the Soft Storey
Buildings
Reinforced concrete frame buildings are becoming
increasingly common in urban India. Many such buildings
constructed in recent times have a special feature the ground
storey is left open for the purpose of parking, i.e., columns in
the ground floor do not have any partition walls (of either
masonry or Reinforced concrete) between them. Such
buildings are often called open ground storey buildings. The
relative horizontal displacement in the ground storey is much
larger than storeys above it. The total horizontal earthquake
force it can carry in the ground storey is significantly smaller
than storeys above it. The soft or weak storey may exist at any
storey level other than ground storey level. Open ground
storey buildings have consistently shown poor performance
during past earthquakes across the world (for example during
1999 Turkey, 1999 Taiwan and 2003 Algeria earthquakes); a
significant number of them have collapsed. A large number of
buildings with open ground storey have been built in India in
recent years. For instance, the city of Ahmedabad alone has
about 25,000 five-storey buildings and about 1,500 eleven-
storey buildings; majority of them have open ground storeys.
Further, a huge number of similarly designed and constructed
buildings exist in the various towns and cities situated in
moderate to severe seismic zones (namely III, IV and V) of
the country. The collapse of more than a hundred RC frame
buildings with open ground storeys at Ahmedabad (~225km
away from epi-centre) during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake has
emphasised that such buildings are extremely vulnerable under
earthquake shaking. A normal frame fails in a beam side sway
mode and undergoes reduction in all the modal frequencies
after the earthquake damage. Stiffness values of all the floors
get reduced. However the stiffness reduction is more for the
bottom storey. A soft storey frame fails in a column side sway
mode and undergoes reduction mostly in its first mode
frequency after the earthquake damage. Also, the stiffness of
the bottom storey alone undergoes changes.
1.2 Definitions of Open Soft Storey Building
After the collapses of RC buildings in 2001 Bhuj
earthquake, the Indian Seismic Code IS: 1893 (Part 1) - 2002
has included special design provisions related to soft storey
Earthquake Response of Reinforced Concrete
Frame with Open Ground Storey
J. Prakashvel, C. UmaRani, K. Muthumani, N. Gopalakrishnan
D
Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 2, No. 4, December 2012 92
ISSN 2277-5056 | 2012 Bonfring
buildings. The Indian seismic code IS:1893 (Part 1) 2002
Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, part-1-
General provisions and buildings, BIS, [7] gives the following
technical definition for soft open storey buildings in Table 5
Definition of irregular buildings Vertical irregularities
(Clause 7.1) i) (a) Stiffness Irregularity (Soft Storey): A soft
storey is one in which the lateral stiffness is less than 70
percent of that in the storey above or less than 80 percent of
the average lateral stiffness of the three storeys above. (b)
Stiffness Irregularity (Extreme Soft Storey) A extreme soft
storey is one in which the lateral stiffness is less than 60
percent of that in the storey above or less than 70 percent of
the average stiffness of the three storeys above. A weak storey
is one in which the storey lateral strength is less than 80
percent of that in the storey above. The storey lateral strength
is the total strength of all seismic force resisting elements
sharing the storey shear in the considered direction. As per
commentary by National Information Centre for Earthquake
Engineering at IITK, Kanpur, soft storey is one in which the
lateral stiffness is less than 60% percent of that in the storey
above or less than 70% of the average lateral stiffness of the
three storeys above. As per commentary by National
Information Centre for Earthquake Engineering, weak storey
is one in which the storey lateral strength is less than 70%
percent of that in the storey above. The storey lateral strength
is the total strength of all seismic force resisting elements
sharing the storey shear in the considered direction. The IS
Code suggests that the forces in the columns, beams and shear
walls (if any) under the action of seismic loads specified in the
code, may be obtained by considering the bare frame building
(Without any infill). However, beams and columns in the open
ground storey are required to be designed for 2.5 times the
forces obtained from this bare frame analysis. If it is not
feasible to increase the capacity of the columns in soft/weak
storey, shear walls should be provided, preferably on the
periphery of the building. Care should be taken to ensure
symmetric arrangement of the shear walls to avoid the
torsional effects. The shear walls should be designed for 1.5
times the seismic demand for the storey as per calculations
while the columns are designed for 100% of seismic demand.
II. REVIEW OF RESEARCH WORKS ON SOFT STOREY
BUILDINGS

Handbook on seismic retrofit of buildings, CPWD, IBC,
and IITM [1] illustrates very good methods on retrofit
strategies. In this handbook, they have given local and global
retrofitting strategy for improving the strength and other
attributes of resistance of a building or a member to seismic
forces. Global retrofit strategy improves the performance of
the entire building under lateral loads. Local retrofit develops
the seismic resistance of a member. Arslan and Korkmaz [2]
investigated the failure modes during the earthquake at
Turkey. In Turkey, generally, building stock is formed from
reinforced concrete structures and during last earthquakes, a
large number of these buildings in the epicenter regions were
collapsed leading to widespread destruction and loss of life. In
this paper, the performance of reinforced concrete buildings
during recent earthquakes in Turkey is discussed. The failure
modes consist of foundation failures, soft stories, strong
beams and weak columns, lack of column confinement, poor
detailing practice and non-structural damages. Observations
from the earthquake damages are discussed. The
Reconnaissance Report of January 26, (2001) Bhuj India
Earthquake [3]. It is found that large number of open ground
storey buildings in Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Gandhidham, and other
towns suffered severe damage or dramatic collapse. Out of the
130 buildings that collapsed in Ahmedabad, most were of
open ground story configuration. Among those that did not
collapse, the damage was confined mostly to the open ground
storey columns. The RC frames with masonry infill formed a
relatively stiff and strong lateral load resisting system in the
upper stories, in contrast to the columns with few or no infill
walls in the ground storey. As a result, almost the entire lateral
deformation is concentrated in the ground storey columns, and
the upper stories moved laterally as a rigid block. Moreover,
unlike the upper storey columns, the ground storey columns in
such buildings could not share the lateral shears with the infill
walls. Since these columns were neither designed for lateral
forces nor detailed for ductile behaviour, many of them
sustained brittle shear failure or flexural failure resulting from
large moment and axial load. Once the ground floor columns
failed, the gravity load-carrying capacity of the building was
partially/completely lost resulting in partial/complete collapse
of many buildings. Infill alter the behaviour of buildings from
one of predominantly frame action to one of predominantly
shear action and also carry the lateral seismic force as
compression axial loads along their diagonals. Dyavanal and
Gudadappanavar [4] evaluated three, six, and nine storey soft
open storey buildings designed for 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 times
the seismic demand and investigated. It is found that same
design forces may well be used for three storeys, soft open
ground buildings as calculated for bare frame to perform
within collapse prevention levels. For the six to nine storey,
soft open ground buildings, the design forces calculated for
bare frame may be increased to 1.5 times to the ground storey
columns to perform within collapse prevention levels. Hejazil
et al [5] investigated the effect of soft storey on structural
response of high rise buildings. The lower level containing the
concrete columns behaved as a soft storey in that the columns
were unable to provide adequate shear resistance during the
earthquake. Usually the most economical way of retrofitting
such a building is by adding proper bracing to soft stories. In
this paper occurrence of soft storey at the lower level of high
rise buildings subjected to earthquake has been studied. Also it
has been investigated on adding of bracing in various
arrangements to the structure in order to reduce soft story
effect on seismic response of building. From these few
models, bracing is one of the method that can be used to resist
earthquake compare to moment resisting frame. It is because
beside increase the strength in the member, it also increases
the overall stiffness in the building. Kaushik et al [6]
investigated various strengthening schemes for their
effectiveness in improving the performance of the buildings
based on nonlinear analyses of typical RC frames. A rational
method has been developed for calculation of required
increase in strength of open first storey columns instead of
designing for very high forces as recommended in some of the
national codes. In this paper, the strengthening schemes such
as providing additional columns, diagonal bracings and lateral
Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 2, No. 4, December 2012 93
ISSN 2277-5056 | 2012 Bonfring
buttress in the open ground storey are studied. Codal methods
are found to increase only lateral strength of such frames
whereas, some of the alternate schemes studied were found to
improve both lateral strength and ductility for improved
seismic performance. Jaswant Arlekar et al [8] evaluated the
seismic response of RC frame building with soft first storeys.
This paper highlights the importance of explicitly recognizing
the presence of the open first storey in the analysis of the
building. The error involved in modeling such buildings as
complete bare frames, neglecting the presence of infills in the
upper storeys, is brought out through the study of an example
building with different analytical models. This paper argues
for immediate measures to prevent the indiscriminate use of
soft first storeys in buildings, which are designed without
regard to the increased displacement, ductility and force
demands in the first storey columns. Alternate measures,
involving stiffness balance of the open first storey and the
storey above, are proposed to reduce the irregularity
introduced by the open first storey. Kadid and Boumrkik [9]
conducted the pushover analysis to evaluate the performance
of framed building under future expected earthquakes. The
Boumerdes 2003 earthquake which has devastated a large part
of the north of Algeria has raised questions about the
adequacy of framed structures to resist strong motions, since
many buildings suffered great damage or collapsed. Three
framed buildings with 5, 8 and 12 storeys respectively were
analyzed. PMM hinges for columns and M3 hinges for beam
as described in FEMA-356 has been adopted in this study.
Beams and columns are modeled as nonlinear frame elements
with lumped plasticity at the start and the end of each element.
From this study results, it is understood that well designed
frames will perform well under seismic loads. The author
gives the following conclusions. The pushover analysis is a
relatively simple way to explore the non-linear behaviour of
the buildings. The behaviour of properly detailed reinforced
concrete frame building is adequate as indicated by the
intersection of the demand and capacity curves and the
distribution of hinges in the beams and the columns. Most of
the hinges developed in the beams and few in the columns but
with limited damage. The causes of failure of reinforced
concrete during the Boumerdes earthquake may be attributed
to the quality of the materials used and also to the fact that
most of buildings constructed in Algeria are of strong beam
and weak column type. The results obtained in terms of
demand, capacity and plastic hinges gave an insight into the
real behaviour of structures.
C.V.R. Murthy, [10] reviewed major issues associated with
open ground storey building in this paper. These open ground
storey buildings are highly vulnerable in shear generated
during strong earthquakes. It is relatively flexible in the
ground storey. The total horizontal displacement of the open
ground storey is much larger than the storeys above. Also the
open ground storey is relatively weak. The total horizontal
earthquake force that can be carried by the open ground storey
is significantly less than the storeys above. This paper also
enumerates the reasons for the poor behaviour of open ground
storey buildings in India. Santhi, M.H; et al [11] studied the
two single-bay, three-storey space frames, one with brick
masonry infill in the second and third floors representing a
soft-storey frame and the other without infill which were
designed and their 1:3 scale models were constructed
according to non-seismic detailing and the similitude law. The
models were excited with an intensity of earthquake motion as
specified in the form of response spectrum in Indian seismic
code IS 1893-2002 using a shake table. The seismic responses
of the soft-storey frame such as fundamental frequency, mode
shape, base shear and stiffness were compared with that of the
bare frame. It was observed that the presence of open ground
floor in the soft-storey infilled frame reduced the natural
frequency by 30%. The shear demand in the soft-storey frame
was found to be more than two and a half times greater than
that in the bare frame. From the mode shape it was found that,
the bare frame vibrated in the flexure mode whereas the soft-
storey frame vibrated in the shear mode. The frames were
tested to failure and the damaged soft-storey frame was
retrofitted with concrete jacketing and, subjected to same
earthquake motions as the original frames. Pushover analysis
was carried out using the software package SAP 2000 to
validate the test results. The performance point was obtained
for all the frames under study, therefore the frames were found
to be adequate for gravity loads and moderate earthquakes.
III. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
3.1 RC Frame Details
Half scale model of two-bays in X-direction, single bay in
Y-direction and three storey reinforced concrete frame with a
total height of 4.8m has been constructed for the shake table
experiment. Each storey height is 1.6 m. Plan and elevation of
the reinforced concrete frame model is shown in figures 1 and
2. Beams and columns are of size 150 X 150 mm. Open space
between the columns at the ground floor level is left open.
Second and third floor is filled with the brick in-fills. In order
to understand the importance of soft storey effect, a half-scale
model of reinforced concrete building is tested in a 4 m X 4 m
shake table. The reinforced concrete frame is open ground
storey frame (OGS frame) having in-fills at higher floors and
kept open at the ground floor. The slab thickness is 100 mm
and base is a raft foundation, which is used for connecting the
model to shake table. The longitudinal beam and transverse
beam reinforcement consists of four numbers of 16 mm
diameter and four numbers of 10 mm diameter bars
respectively. Columns are reinforced with four numbers of
12mm diameter bars. Lateral ties in the columns and beams
are 6 mm diameter two legged stirrups at a spacing of 150 mm
c/c. Material used are M 25 grade concrete and Fe 415 steel.
An additional mass of 1200 kg is added on each floor to
represent equivalent live load.
3.2 Instruments Used
High speed data acquisition units with necessary
sensor/amplifier/recording devices are used to measure the
strain, displacement, and acceleration.
1. Shake table
2. Accelerometer
3. LVDTs (Linear Variable Displacement Transducer)
4. NCDTs (Non Contact Displacement Transducer)
5. Strain gauges
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3.2.1 Shake Table
4m X 4m shake table is used to test the reinforced concrete
frame model. Required earthquake time history is given to the
shake table in the form of displacement values through the
multi directional actuators in the shake table setup.
Specification of the shake table
Size of the table : 4m X 4m
Maximum pay load : 30 tons
Frequency of operation : 0.1Hz 50Hz
Acceleration (Maximum): 1.0g (H&V)
Velocity (Maximum) : 0.8 m/sec
Wave form : Sine wave, Sine sweep, Random
3.3 Test Procedure
Model reinforced concrete frame is placed on the shake
table at the required position. Base raft slab of the frame is
connected to the shake table with high strength bolts to make
it as a rigid base. A stationary reference steel frame (I section)
is fixed near the reinforced concrete model and away from
shake table. LVDTs and NCDTs are connected to the steel
frame at each floor levels to measure the linear displacement
of the frame for every earthquake given to the shake table.
Strain gauges pasted on to the steel reinforcement are
connected to the multi channel data acquisition system. Two
accelerometers are fixed at each floor level to measure the
acceleration values. The earthquake time history compatible to
response spectrum given in IS-1893, for soft soil spectrum for
zone V is modified with the frequency scaling of square root
of two by similitude law for the half scale model of reinforced
concrete frame which is termed as SFTM. The SFTM
earthquake time history in the form of displacement is given to
the shake table actuators which are present in the lower part of
shake table using control system software.
























The magnitude of the SFTM earthquake time history is
increased from 10% to 120 % and the response of the
reinforced concrete frame model for every increment of 10%
from SFTM-10% to SFTM-120% is observed and measured.
These actuators are moved from its original position to
achieve its input excitation. All the displacements,
acceleration values are measured along the direction of table
excitation.
Dynamic strain values from the strain gauges of the
columns, acceleration values from all accelerometers and
displacement values from all the LVDT and NCDTs are
received, digitized and recorded. High speed data acquisition
units with necessary sensor/amplifier/recording devices are
used to measure the strain, displacement, and acceleration.
Instrumentation details are shown in figures 3 and 4
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
During the shake table experiment, various earthquakes
were imparted to the model reinforced concrete frame.
Response of the reinforced concrete frame model for various
earthquakes were analysed and behaviour of the structure is
studied. The maximum peak ground acceleration value is 7.99
m/s
2
during the SFTM-120% earthquake. The magnitude is
increased from SFTM 10 % to SFTM 120% and response is
measured for every earthquake time history. SFT is the
earthquake generated from IS-1893, soft soil spectrum.
Modified SFT (SFTM) is the modified spectrum compatible
time history of IS-1893 soft soil spectrum with the frequency
scaling of square root of two by similitude law for the half
scale model of the reinforced concrete frame. The reinforced
concrete frame model tested is the half scale model. Hence
(SFTM) the modified spectrum compatible time history of
IS1893 soft soil spectrum is used for the test. Figure-5 shows
ground acceleration and acceleration values measured at three
floors of the reinforced concrete frame during SFTM-50 %
earthquake. The maximum acceleration at the third storey
level is 4.396m/sec
2
. Due to the stiffness of the brick infill in
the upper storeys, acceleration of all the three storeys is almost
same as seen in the figure 5. Base shear during SFTM-50%
earthquake is given in figure 6. The maximum value of the
base shear is 51.152 KN during SFTM-50%. It is observed
that magnification is almost same for all the three storeys.
However third storey has got higher values of magnification.
Drift variation of the figure.10, shows the clear picture of soft
storey behaviour of having higher inter-story drift at ground
floor level. The maximum drift value is 17mm in the ground
storey during SFTM-50%.







Figure 1: Side Elevation
150
150
150
150
145
0
145
0
145
0
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Figure 3: Strain Gauge Details








Figure 4: Instrumentation Details

Figure 2: Plan and Elevation

2000
3000
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.










Figure 5: Ground Acceleration and Mean Acceleration values Measured at Three Floors during SFTM-50 % Earthquake
















Figure 6: Base Shear during SFTM-50%
Earthquake












40.0 40.2 40.4 40.6 40.8 41.0 41.2 41.4 41.6 41.8 42.0
-4
-2
0
2
4
PGA
Third floor
Second floor
First floor
M
e
a
n

A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s
e
c
^
2
)
Time (Secs)
40.0 40.5 41.0 41.5 42.0 42.5
-40
-20
0
20
40

B
a
s
e

S
h
e
a
r

(
k
N
)
Time (Secs)
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Figure 7: Strain Variations in the Second Storey Columns during SFTM-120 % Earthquake




















Figure 8: Strain Variations in the Ground Storey Columns during SFTM-120 % Earthquake
Note: Strain Gauges GC12 and GC21 were Failed due to Very High Strain hence not Shown in the above Figure

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Table 1: Response of the Model RC Frame for Modified Spectrum (Soft soil-IS1893)

The RC frame tested is the half scale model. Hence (SFTM) the modified spectrum compatible time history of IS1893 soft
soil spectrum is used for the test. The magnitude is increased from SFTM 10 % to SFTM 120% and response is measured for
every earthquake time history
Table 2: Displacement of the Model RC Frame for Modified Spectrum (Soft soil-IS1893)
Description
of
Test

Unit
SFTM
10%
SFTM
20%
SFTM
30%
SFTM
40%
SFTM
50%
SFTM
70%
SFTM
80%
SFTM
90%
SFTM
100%
SFTM
110%
SFTM
120%
First floor (mm) 1.27 2.36 3.65 5.15 7.02 12.29 16.94 21.10 28.88 18.91 20.66
Second floor (mm) 1.57 2.89 4.43 6.21 8.59 14.98 20.83 25.99 34.02 18.90 20.65
Third floor (mm) 1.74 3.33 5.07 7.09 9.66 16.52 22.95 28.69 37.42 18.87 20.65







Description of
Test
SFTM
10%
SFTM
20%
SFTM
30%
SFTM
40%
SFTM
50%
SFTM
70%
SFTM
80%
SFTM
90%
SFTM
100%
SFTM
110%
SFTM
120%
PGA
m
/
s
e
c
^
2

0.62 1.54 2.99 4.04 4.22 5.26 6.02 6.62 6.81 7.66 7.99
Base Shear kN 11.63 20.61 30.26 41.78 51.15 76.12 87.58 99.34 112.82 116.48 114.16
Normalised
Base Shear
% 9.00 15.94 22.76 31.42 38.47 57.25 65.87 74.72 84.86 87.61 88.31
M
a
g
n
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

F
a
c
t
o
r

(
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
)

III
Floor
1.64 1.27 1.02 1.01 1.04 1.28 1.22 1.30 1.52 1.56 1.35
II
Floor
2.04 1.21 0.86 0.79 0.96 1.15 1.15 1.26 1.27 1.23 1.11
I
Floor
1.35 1.19 0.93 0.87 0.87 1.17 1.09 1.14 1.11 1.22 1.15
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Table 3: Drift Values of the Model RC Frame for Modified Spectrum (Soft soil-IS1893)
Description
of
Test

Unit
SFTM
10%
SFTM
20%
SFTM
30%
SFTM
40%
SFTM
50%
SFTM
70%
SFTM
80%
SFTM
90%
SFTM
100%
SFTM
110%
SFTM
120%
Third floor (mm) 0.32 0.48 0.65 0.93 1.20 1.83 2.52 2.83 3.43 0.14 0.13
Second floor (mm) 0.35 0.62 0.84 1.28 1.75 2.90 4.06 5.01 6.34 0.04 0.04
First floor (mm) 1.27 2.36 3.65 5.15 16.94 12.29 16.94 21.10 28.88 18.91 20.66

















Figure 9: Displacement of the Model RC Frame for Figure 10: Drift of the Model RC Frame for Modified Spectrum
(Soft soil-IS1893) Modified Spectrum (Soft Soil-IS1893)

Magnitude of strain variation in the ground storey column
is higher than the second storey column during SFTM-
50%.The maximum magnitude of strain in the ground storey
column is nearly 1500 micro strain whereas it is only 50 micro
strains in the second storey column during SFTM-50%.
Similar to the SFTM-50% earthquake, acceleration values
of all the three storeys is almost same during SFTM-120%
earthquake. This may be due to the presence of the brick infill
in the upper storeys. The maximum value of the base shear is
114.16KN during SFTM-120%. During SFTM-120%, it is
observed that magnification is almost same for all the three
storeys. However third storey has got higher values of
magnification. Drift variation during SFTM-120% depicts the
behaviour of soft storey building wherein the inter-storey drift
at ground floor level is very high compared to other storeys.
Magnitude of strain variation in the ground storey column is
higher than the second storey column during SFTM-120%
earthquake as shown in figure 7 and figure 8.As far as SFTM-
120% earthquake is concerned the maximum magnitude of
strain in the ground storey column is nearly 10,000 micro
strain where as it is only 700 micro strain in the second storey
column. Figure 9 and Figure 10 gives the floor wise graphical
representation of the displacement and drift of the reinforced
concrete model frame for the given earthquake (Modified
spectrum for Soft soil-IS1893). Soft storey behaviour is
clearly depicted in the figures 9 and 10 wherein the drift value
is very high for the ground storey compared to the second and
third storey. Figure 9 and 10 indicates the severe deformation
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demands in case of a building with a soft storey. Excessive
deformations in the ground storey alone are not desirable since
the columns in the ground storey become stressed well beyond
the level anticipated in the design (source: Murty).
Table 1 to 3 gives the response of the Model RC frame for
Modified spectrum (Soft soil-IS1893).The maximum peak
ground acceleration value is 7.99 m/s
2
during SFTM-120%
earthquake and the corresponding base shear is 114.16 kN.
Maximum base shear of 116.48 kN has occurred during
SFTM-110% earthquake. SFTM-120% earthquake consists of
highest magnitude of peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of
7.99 m/s
2
and the maximum response acceleration of the
above earthquake is 11.44 m/s
2
at the third floor level. Hence
the magnification for this earthquake is 1.43. Amplification of
the reinforced concrete frame model is less due to interaction
of masonry infill with the bounding reinforced concrete frame
in the in-elastic range which is the soft storey behaviour. Table
2 and Table 3 gives the displacement and drift values of the
model reinforced concrete frame. As the structure has yielded
beyond SFTM -100% earthquakes, both the values of the
displacement and drift has been reduced for the earthquake
SFTM-110% and 120%. Model reinforced concrete frame has
undergone a maximum displacement of 37.42 mm at third
floor level during SFTM-100% earthquake whose PGA value
is 6.81 m/s
2
. But in the SFTM-120% earthquake with PGA
7.99 m/s
2
the maximum displacement is reduced to 20.65 mm
at the third floor level. This shows that the frame has yielded
leading to the stiffness degradation.
As the model reinforced concrete frame is a soft storey
building, the ground storey drift is much higher than the
second and third storey drift. Soft storey behaviour can be
clearly demonstrated by comparing the ground storey drift
values with that of second and third storey drift. 28.88mm
drift is the maximum drift experienced by the ground storey of
reinforced concrete frame during SFTM-100% earthquake.
Brick infill in the reinforced concrete frame model contributes
to the stiffness value in addition to the column stiffness.
Ground storey stiffness is very less (less than 30 %) compared
to second storey stiffness for all the earthquakes. Due to
damage in the reinforced concrete model frame, after the
SFTM 110% earthquake, the stiffness percentage of ground
storey to second storey is as low as 3.45%. In general the
displacement profile and storey drift clearly depicts the soft
storey behaviour. SFTM-120% earthquake consists of highest
magnitude of peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of 7.99
m/sq sec and the maximum response acceleration of the above
earthquake is 10.79 m/sq sec at the third floor level. As the
model RC frame is a soft storey building, the ground storey
drift is much higher than the second and third storey drift. Soft
storey behaviour can be clearly demonstrated by comparing
the ground storey drift values with that of second and third
storey drift.
4.1 Summary
Inter storey drift is high at the first storey level for the
tested reinforced concrete frame model which is due to the
lack of stiffness in the ground storey. Drift values for the
upper storeys are comparatively low because of the relative
increase in stiffness. The shear force acting at the ground
storey level is higher than the other floors. Due to the reduced
stiffness and increased shear force, ground storey column
deformed to a large extent during the earthquakes. Damages
are predominantly spread in the ground storey of the tested
reinforced concrete frame model which is due to the high
lateral shear force at the ground storey level and also due to
the inadequate lateral load capacity of the reinforced concrete
frame model. Sliding cracks are formed in the infill walls.
V. CONCLUSIONS
An open ground storey reinforced concrete frame model
was tested in the shake table for the earthquake time history
compatible to response spectrum given in IS-1893, for soft
soil spectrum for zone V, modified with the frequency scaling
of square root of two by similitude law for the half scale
model of reinforced concrete frame. Based on the above
experimental studies the following conclusions are drawn.
1) In the shake table experiment, it was found that the
inter-storey drift is higher in the ground storey (28.88
mm) compared to other storey drifts (6.34mm &
3.43mm) in the upper floors. This clearly
demonstrates the open ground storey frame effect.
2) It is found that the magnitude of strain variation in the
ground storey column is in the range of 10,000 micro
strain and it is only 700 microns in the second storey
column during shake table test. During all the shake
table tests, strain values are higher at ground storey
columns and it is comparatively very low for other
storey columns
3) During the shake table test, predominant failure hinges
are formed in the open ground storey columns.
4) With reference to the behaviour of the infill wall, it is
observed in the shake table test that the sliding
cracks are formed in the in-filled walls instead of X
cracks. It is found that this is due to the reason that the
maximum base shear(11.65tons) value is higher than
the strength of the infill (3.4tons)
5) In general for all the earthquakes given to the model
frame, magnification is less due to the stiffness
provided by the infill walls in the upper storeys.
6) It is found from the shake table experiment that the
ratio of ground storey stiffness to second storey
stiffness is 35% at the initial stage before testing.
After testing the stiffness reduced to 3.32% leading to
the exaggeration of the soft storey effect.
7) The force capacity and the maximum displacement
obtained from the shake table experiment is 11.65 tons
and 37.42mm respectively.

In view of the above, the effect of the open ground storey
frame is clearly demonstrated from the drift profiles,
displacement profiles, strain gauge values, stiffness ratio and
damage pattern of the reinforced concrete model frame


Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 2, No. 4, December 2012 101
ISSN 2277-5056 | 2012 Bonfring
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper is published with the approval of the
Director, CSIR-SERC, Chennai, and his encouragement is
gratefully acknowledged.
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