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300 Meter Chinese Building Starts to Shake 1

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bimr

Civil/Environmental
Feb 25, 2003
9,323
The near 300-meter (980 ft) high SEG Plaza inexplicably began to shake at around 1pm, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on open-mouthed from the streets outside.

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SEG Plaza is a skyscraper in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Completed in 2000 and located at the junction of Shennan Road and Huaqiangbei Electronics Market, it stands 356 meters tall when the antenna height is included. It is the 21st tallest in China and the 72nd tallest in the world.
 
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There's one video in that article where the two 'columns' below are shaking pretty good. Wonder if some vortex shedding got them moving enough to induce some vibrations throughout the building?

columns_mvyzju.jpg
 
does it have one of those damping systems going up the middle of it?

The only thing I found on its construction is that its concrete filled pipes as the load bearing structure.
 
Dancing to the Golden Gate tune?

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I have been in tall buildings which gently swayed, so I was expecting something like that, but this is a faster vibration.

There is another video showing the interior of the building, and objects are shaking with a similar frequency. There is no way those roof top chimneys could cause the building to shake; it is the other way round. In one of the clips, clouds are moving quite fast, indicating a stiff breeze. I would bet it is vortex shedding (or wind related effect) causing the building to shake. It may be specific to a particular wind speed and direction.

SEG Plaza (SEG Plaza) at shenzhen in china building shakes at 0:45 and 1:00
 
I did not think a 300 m building could be stiff enough to have a natural frequency that fast.
 
Surprised me too. It looks like an earth tremor, but apparently seismic activity is already ruled out. I can't think of any other reason. It was built in 2000, so must be a rare occurrence.

With my software hat on, I would say carry on and see if it happens again :)
 
As terrifying as that must have been for the people in and around that building, it is pretty fascinating from a structural dynamics perspective. After watching the videos, I got the sense it was vibrating in a torsional mode. Assuming that the wind caused the building excitation, it seems surprising that this would be the first time it has happened in the 21 years since it was built.
 
That will teach them to buy off-shore...[lol]

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik
 
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