| Abstract: | In this paper, soil-structure interaction studies are presented for buildings which collapsed at the Tofas automobile factory, Bursa, Turkey, during the 28 March 1970 Gediz earthquake. Acceleration response spectrum curves of the ground were determined using the vibrations of an after shock recorded by a Willmore velocity seismometer. These spectrum curves provide an essential source of information for establishing the reasons of collapse, as well as for explaining the relative response to the earthquake of various buildings in the factory area. The factory not only is 135 km away from the epicentre, but also is far outside the fifth degree damage intensity zone. The prime reason why a low value of ground acceleration caused such surprisingly heavy damage to modern reinforced concrete structures is concluded to be the resonance phenomenon arising from the natural period of the structures coinciding with the predominant period of the soil. |
