Summary
Precast buildings have been becoming popular in China in these 5 years since they have many merits such as effectiveness, safety, high quality, and environmental friendliness. In some cities of China, it is required to make the proportion of precast buildings account for 30% in newly built construction areas. Following the rapid development, their vibration behaviors are attracting more attention since it may be quite different from the cast‐in‐situ building. To investigate the difference, this paper studies the modal properties of two kinds of buildings, i.e., new‐type precast building and cast‐in‐situ building. They were built in the same area, while the structural forms are also similar. The main difference is the construction manner. Ambient vibration tests of these two structures were conducted respectively. Since the number of sensors is limited, the locations of interest were measured by a multiple‐setup technique. The difficulty encountered during the field test was discussed. A frequency domain Bayesian approach was used to conduct operational modal analysis. Both the most probable value and posterior uncertainties of modal parameters were studied, including translational, torsional, and wrapping modes. The difference of the modal parameters of the two kinds of buildings are compared and discussed. Finite element models were also built to perform a comparison. It is seen that although the structural forms and appearances of the two buildings are similar, some obvious differences were observed regarding the dynamic characteristics, which provide valuable information for popularizing and future assessment of the new‐type precast structure.