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A Simple Model for Estimating Shocks in Unrestrained Building Contents in an Earthquake

Building contents that include cabinets housing electronic equipment are typically not rigidly secured to the floor, nor to the adjacent wall except in regions of high seismic activities. The behavior of unrestrained building contents in an earthquake is a cause of concern because of the consequence of damage to certain equipment or other forms of fragile items. Much of the research reported in the literature has been devoted to studying the rocking and sliding motion behavior of base-excited rigid objects and their risks of overturning. In contrast, this paper is concerned with estimating the impact acceleration that can be generated by the pounding of the rocking object onto the floor. Algebraic expressions for predicting the acceleration level, which can be translated into dynamic force values, are derived and illustrated by case studies. Importantly, the proposed expressions have been verified by comparisons with results from both simulated and physical experiments. In illustrating the use of the proposed analytical procedure, a parametric experimental study has been undertaken on a cushion material to study the sensitivity of its static and dynamic stiffness to changes in the boundary conditions of the cushion. The proposed calculation procedure, while simple to apply, can be used as a means of predicting shock and the dynamic forces that can be generated in an object in the course of the response to an earthquake.