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. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.