Experimental assessment on aseismic capacity of a perimeter diagrid concrete core structure: Shake table tests

•The seismic behavior of perimeter diagrid concrete core (PDCC) structures has been systematically evaluated.•A comprehensive study of the failure modes of PDCC was conducted by measurements and observations of the shaking table tests.•The investigation of the shake table tests is beneficial to comprehensively understand the seismic performance of a PDCC structural system. Perimeter diagrid concrete core (PDCC) is a structural system used for high-rise building applications. Quantifying their seismic safety is of interest to owners and decision makers due to the lack of the comprehensive understanding of the seismic performance of the high-rise PDCC structure. To systematically evaluate the seismic performance, a 36-story PDCC structure has been assessed using 1/20 scaled shake table tests. In addition, a detailed nonlinear finite element model (FEM) of the PDCC structure was built for comparison and analysis with the shaking table test. The damage to the perimeter diagrid bracings, the RC structural walls, the diagonal beam, under earthquake excitations have been assessed and discussed systematically based on the experimental and numerical results. The analysis result shows that the PDCC structure has a high performance under the earthquake load that can be used as an efficient seismic force-resisting system. Under the action of horizontal earthquakes, the axial force of the diagonal braces on the same floor varies greatly, and the axial force of the diagonal brace is related to the number of other diagonal braces on its axis. In terms of seismic damage to the perimeter diagonal braces, the most severe seismic damage is concentrated in the diagonal braces with higher axial forces, while the damage to other diagonal braces with smaller axial forces is less severe. And the seismic damage of diagonal bracing has a tendency to expand to other surrounding diagonal braces.