Stiffness-damping simultaneous identification using limited earthquake records

A new method of stiffness-damping simultaneous identification of building structures is proposed using limited earthquake records. It is shown that when horizontal accelerations are recorded at the floors just above and below a specific storey in a shear building model, the storey stiffness and the damping ratio can be identified uniquely. The viscous damping coefficient and the linear hysteretic damping ratio can also be identified simultaneously in a numerical model structure. The accuracy of the present identification method is investigated through the actual limited earthquake records in a base-isolated building. It is further shown that an advanced identification technique for mechanical properties of a Maxwell-type model can be developed by combining the present method with a perturbation technique.