The method of analysis most commonly used for the earthquake response of structure is based on the vibration theory. For the simplest model of single-degree-of-freedom system, the equation of motion is written as follows : [numerical formula] in which ω^2=K/M and h=C/2ω_nM. Namely, the response characteriistics of the massis determined thoroughly only by the foundamental frequency ω_n and the damping coefficient h, for anf given earthquake ground motions. That is to say, the quantity of mass has nothing to do with the response characteristics of the system. These analytical results are often contradictory to actual behaviors. The amount of energy generated by a large earthquake may well be considered to be infinite at its source, however, energy density at a point several ten kilometers away from the source can not be regarded to be infinite. The energy balance between the energy supply by earthquake wave and energy dissipation within a structure must be taken into account, besides the above equation which is composed from the balance of forces. The dynamic response characteristics are analyzed on the basis of energy balance in this study. The additional condition due to energy balance is ΔW_i=ΔE+ΔW_r in which ΔW_i is the energy supply by incoming earthquake, ΔE is the energy dissipation within a structure and ΔW_r is the energy dispersed from the base of structure. As the result, it was proved that the influence of mass load of structure can not be neglected for the earthquake response estimations of actual buildings.
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