An answer to an important controversy and the need for caution when using simple models to predict inelastic earthquake response of buildings with torsion

This paper presents evidence that the extension of conclusions based on the widely used simplified, one story, eccentric systems of the shear‐beam type, to actual, nonsymmetric buildings and consequent assessments of the pertinent code provisions, can be quite erroneous, unless special care is taken to match the basic properties of the simplified models to those of the real buildings. The evidence comes from comparisons of results obtained using three variants of simplified models, with results from the inelastic dynamic response of three‐ and five‐story eccentric buildings computed with detailed MDOF systems, where the members are idealized with the well‐known plastic hinge model. In addition, a convincing answer is provided on a pertinent hanging controversy: For frame‐type buildings, designed in accordance with the dynamic provisions of modern codes (such as EC8 or IBC2000), which allow reduced shears at the stiff edge due to torsion, the frames at the flexible sides are the critical elements in terms of ductility demands. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of supplemental viscous damping on seismic response of asymmetric-plan systems

Coupling between lateral and torsional motions may lead to much larger edge deformations in asymmetric-plan systems compared to systems with a symmetric plan. Supplemental viscous damping has been found to be effective in reducing deformations in the symmetric-plan system. This investigation examined how supplemental damping affects the edge deformations in asymmetric-plan systems. First, the parameters that characterize supplemental viscous damping and its plan-wise distribution were identified, and then the effects of these parameters on edge deformations were investigated. It was found that supplemental damping reduces edge deformations and that reductions by a factor of up three are feasible with proper selection of system parameters. Furthermore, viscous damping may be used to reduce edge deformations in asymmetric-plan systems to levels equal to or smaller than those in the corresponding symmetric-plan system. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Torsional mechanisms in ductile building systems

It is postulated that in order to estimate torsional effects on the seismic response of ductile building structures, the associated plastic mechanism to be developed in the three-dimensional system should be identified. The proposed approach is very different from that embodied in building codes. Inelastic structures are classified as either torsionally unrestrained or restrained. It is shown that clearly defined mechanisms that are to be mobilized, enable the acceptable system ductility demand to be estimated. This should ensure that the corresponding demands imposed on critical translatory elements of the system do not exceed their established displacement ductility capacity. To this end familiar quantities, such as element yield displacement and stiffness, are redefined. Comparisons are made of the intents of existing codified design approaches and those emphasising the role of imposed inelastic displacements. A simple treatment of the consequences of earthquake-induced inelastic skew displacements is also addressed. The primary aim of the paper is to offer very simple concepts, based on easily identifiable plastic mechanisms, to be utilized in structural design rather than advancement in analyses. Detailed design applications of these concepts are described elsewhere. The approach is an extension of the deterministic philosophy of capacity design, now used in some countries. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of supplemental viscous damping on inelastic seismic response of asymmetric systems

This paper investigates the effects of supplemental viscous damping on the seismic response of one‐storey, asymmetric‐plan systems responding in the inelastic range of behaviour. It was found that addition of the supplemental damping reduces not only deformation demand but also ductility and hysteretic energy dissipation demands on lateral load resisting elements during earthquake loading. However, the level of reduction strongly depends on the plan‐wise distribution of supplemental damping. Nearly optimal reduction in demands on the outermost flexible‐side element, an element generally considered to be the most critical element, was realized when damping was distributed unevenly in the system plan such that the damping eccentricity was equal in magnitude but opposite in algebraic sign to the structural eccentricity of the system. These results are similar to those noted previously for linear elastic systems, indicating that supplemental damping is also effective for systems expected to respond in the inelastic range. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of torsion on the behavior of peripheral steel‐braced frame systems

In this study, the torsional response of buildings with peripheral steel‐braced frame lateral systems is evaluated. A three‐dimensional model of a three story braced frame with various levels of eccentricity is created and the effects of torsion on the seismic response is assessed for four hazard levels. The response history analysis results indicate that, unlike frame structures, the torsional amplifications in the inelastic systems exceed those of corresponding elastic systems and tend to increase with an increase in the level of inelasticity. The ability of two simplified procedures, elastic response spectrum analysis and pushover analysis, to capture the torsional amplifications in steel‐braced frames is evaluated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alternative method to locate centre of rigidity in asymmetric buildings

Response of asymmetric buildup under earthquake excitation often involves lateral vibration coupled with torsional vibration. Floor slab is, in general, assumed as rigid along the in‐plane direction. Building code provisions to account for the torsional effect in static force procedure are based on centre of rigidity or shear centre of the building. A convenient procedure is developed here to locate the centre of rigidity or shear centre, which can be implemented, using any standard building analysis software. The procedure is applicable for orthogonal as well as non‐orthogonal building systems and accounts for all possible definitions of static eccentricity to compute the design response. An irregular building is analysed to illustrate the proposed methodology. Significant variation in member force resultants is observed due to different definitions of static eccentricity. Finally, a mathematical proof is presented to substantiate the applicability of the proposed procedure to a non‐orthogonal building. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage response of multistorey r/c buildings with different structural systems subjected to seismic motion of arbitrary orientation

In the present study the combined influence of seismic orientation and a number of parameters characterizing the structural system of Reinforced Concrete (R/C) buildings on the level of expected damages are examined. For the purposes of the above investigation eight medium‐rise buildings are designed on the basis of the current seismic codes. The structural characteristics examined are the ratio of the base shear received by the structural walls, the ratio of horizontal stiffness in two orthogonal directions and the structural eccentricity. Then, the buildings are analyzed by nonlinear time response analysis using 100 bidirectional earthquake ground motions. The two horizontal accelerograms of each ground motion are applied along horizontal orthogonal axes, forming 72 different angles with the structural axes. The structural damage is expressed in terms of the Park and Ang damage index. The results of the analyses revealed that the damage level of the buildings is strongly affected by the incident angle of the ground motion. The extent at which the orientation of the seismic records influences the damage response depends on the structural system and the distance of the record to the fault rupture. As a consequence, the common practice of applying the earthquake records along the structural axes can lead to significant underestimation of structural damage. Also, it was shown that the structural eccentricity can significantly differentiate the seismic damage level, as well as the impact of the earthquake orientation on the structural damage. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inelastic torsion of multistorey buildings under earthquake excitations

The inelastic earthquake response of eccentric, multistorey, frame‐type, reinforced concrete buildings is investigated using three‐ and five‐storey models, subjected to a set of 10, two‐component, semi‐artificial motions, generated to match the design spectrum. Buildings designed according to the EC8 as well as the UBC‐97 code were included in the investigation. It is found that contrary to what the simplified one‐storey, typical, shear‐beam models predict, the so‐called ‘flexible’ side frames exhibit higher ductility demands than the ‘stiff’ side frames. The substantial differences in such demands between the two sides suggest a need for reassessment of the pertinent code provisions. This investigation constitutes one of the first attempts to study the problem of inelastic torsion by means of realistic, multistorey inelastic building models. Additional studies with similar or even more refined idealizations will certainly be required to arrive at definite results and recommendations for possible code revisions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超高层建筑设计地震动参数的研究

本文以沈阳市世纪华丰文化广场工程场地为例,在地震危险性分析的基础上,进行土层地震反应分析,对超高层建筑设计地震动参数的确定进行研究,为抗震设计提供可靠依据。     

Assessment of seismic design response factors of concrete wall buildings

To verify the seismic design response factors of high-rise buildings, five reference structures, varying in height from 20- to 60-stories, were selected and designed according to modern design codes to represent a wide range of concrete wall structures. Verified fiber-based analytical models for inelastic simulation were developed, considering the geometric nonlinearity and material inelasticity of the structural members. The ground motion uncertainty was accounted for by employing 20 earthquake records representing two seismic scenarios, consistent with the latest understanding of the tectonic setting and seismicity of the selected reference region (UAE). A large number of Inelastic Pushover Analyses (IPAs) and Incremental Dynamic Collapse Analyses (IDCAs) were deployed for the reference structures to estimate the seismic design response factors. It is concluded that the factors adopted by the design code are adequately conservative. The results of this systematic assessment of seismic design response factors apply to a wide variety of contemporary concrete wall buildings with various characteristics.     

Effect of Overstrength on the Seismic Behaviour of Multi-Storey Regularly Asymmetric Buildings

In past years, seismic response of asymmetric structures has been frequently analysed by means of single-storey models, because of their simplicity and low computational cost. However, it is widely believed that use of more realistic multi-storey models is needed in order to investigate effects of some system characteristics (such as overstrength, higher modes of vibration, etc.) that make behaviour of multi-storey schemes different from that of single-storey systems. This paper examines effects of the overstrength in element cross-sections on the seismic behaviour of multi-storey asymmetric buildings. It is shown that in actual buildings this characteristic, which is sometimes very variable both in plan and along the height of the building, may lead to distributions of ductility demands different from those expected according to the results from single-storey models. Consequently, torsional provisions, which aim at reducing ductility demands of single-storey asymmetric systems to those of the corresponding torsionally balanced systems, should be re-checked in light of the behaviour of realistic multi-storey buildings.     

平面不规则结构非弹性扭转地震反应研究进展

不规则建筑结构在侧向地震荷载作用下由于质量中心和刚度中心的不重合导致平扭耦联反应的发生,使得结构构件的变形需求分布在结构平面内并不一致,从而产生附加的强度和变形需求。尽管不规则建筑结构在地震作用下的扭转问题一直受到研究学者的关注和研究,并取得了很多显著的成果,但仍然存在着一些争议,有待于继续深入研究。本文从结构的分析模型、影响参数及地震动输入等方面回顾总结了平面不规则建筑结构在地震作用下非弹性扭转的研究进展,结合当前的研究工作指出今后研究的发展方向。     

Estimation of inelastic deformation demands in multistorey RC frame buildings

Estimation of peak inelastic deformation demands is a key component of any displacement-based procedure for earthquake-resistant design of new structures or for seismic evaluation of existing structures. On the basis of the results of over a thousand non-linear dynamic analyses, rules are developed for the estimation of mean and upper-characteristic peak inelastic interstorey drifts and member chord rotations in multistorey RC frame buildings, either bare or infilled in all storeys but the first. For bare frame structures, mean inelastic deformation demands can be estimated from a linear, equivalent static, or preferably multimodal response spectrum analysis with 5 per cent damping and with the RC members considered with their secant stiffness at yielding. 95 per cent characteristic values can be estimated as multiples of the mean deformations. For open-first-storey buildings, the linear analysis can be equivalent static, with the infills modelled as rigid bidiagonal struts and all RC members considered with their secant stiffness to yielding. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of inelastic seismic deformations in asymmetric multistorey RC buildings

Four real buildings with three to six stories, strong irregularities in plan and little engineered earthquake resistance are subjected to inelastic response‐history analyses under 56 bidirectional EC8‐spectra‐compatible motions. The average chord rotation demand at each member end over the 56 response‐history analyses is compared to the chord rotation from elastic static analysis with inverted triangular lateral forces or modal response spectrum analysis. The storey‐average inelastic‐to‐elastic‐chord‐rotation‐ratio was found fairly constant in all stories, except when static elastic analysis is applied to buildings with large higher mode effects. Except for such buildings, static elastic analysis gives more uniform ratios of inelastic chord rotations to elastic ones within and among stories than modal response spectrum analysis, but generally lower than 1.0. With increasing EPA the building‐average inelastic‐to‐elastic‐chord‐rotation‐ratio decreases but scatter in the results increases. Static elastic analysis tends to overestimate the inelastic torsional effects at the flexible or central part of the torsionally flexible buildings and underestimate them at their stiff side. Modal response spectrum analysis tends to overestimate the inelastic torsional effects at the stiff or central part of the torsionally stiff buildings and underestimate them at the flexible side. Overall, for multistorey RC buildings that typically have fundamental periods in the velocity‐sensitive part of the spectrum, elastic modal response spectrum analysis with 5% damping gives on average unbiased and fairly accurate estimates of member inelastic chord rotations. If higher modes are not significant, elastic static analysis in general overestimates inelastic chord rotations of such buildings, even when torsional effects are present. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国古建筑简化分析研究

为研究中国古建筑的固有特性和抗震性能,根据西安城南门箭楼复原工程资料,采用半刚性弹簧单元来模拟实体结构的榫卯、斗拱和柱础连接,建立箭楼大木作构架的局部和整体两种有限元模型.采用Block Lanczos方法,分别进行模态分析,得出模型的前10阶频率和振型;采用瞬态分析方法,在El Centro波、Taft波和兰州人工波...     

多层错层砖砌体房屋抗震分析

本文根据典型的东西和南北错层单元模型,按不同的错层高度、不同收层情况和不同理置深度的实际房屋情况,分析建立了错层房层和相应的等效规整房屋模型,采用板壳单元,用有限元方法计算了这些模型的动力特征和在地震作用下的墙肢剪应力分布,经过对比分析得到了一些错层房屋墙应力的分布规律。根据错层房屋的受力特点,文中提出了相应的加强构造措施,结构布置要求和错层房屋的抗震计算模型等具体建议。     

Site response analyses using downhole arrays at various seismic hazard levels of Singapore

Local site conditions can significantly influence the characteristics of seismic ground motions. In this study, site response analyses using one-dimensional linear elastic (LE), equivalent-linear (EQL) and nonlinear (NL) approaches are performed at different seismic hazard levels of Singapore. Two seismic stations, namely, the KAP and BES stations located at soft soil sites, are selected from the national network of Singapore. Firstly, site response estimates using the LE, EQL (SHAKE04) and NL (DEEPSOIL) approaches are compared with the borehole recordings. Results show favorable matches between the predictions and the observations at the KAP site, while under-predictions are observed for all the three site effect approaches at the BES site. Secondly, the applicability of the LE, EQL and NL models is examined at different hazard levels of Singapore. It is found that for the hazard level at a return period of 475 years, the computed maximum strain (γ_max) is 0.06% and then the EQL model can provide accurate site response predictions. However, for the hazard level at a return period of 2475 years, the calculated γ_max is larger than 2%, resulting in notable differences in the predictions of different site response models. This study highlights the importance of site effects in seismic hazard analysis of Singapore.     

Pseudodynamic response of torsionally unbalanced two‐storey test structure

Two one‐way eccentric, two‐storey, one‐by‐one‐bay reinforced concrete (RC) structures are pseudodynamically tested under unidirectional ground motions. Theoretical considerations about the effect of torsional coupling on modal periods and shapes agree with modal results of the test structure, considering member stiffness is equal to the secant stiffness to yielding in skew‐symmetric bending. Modal periods of such an elastic structure are in fair agreement with effective periods inferred from the measured response at the beginning of a test of a thoroughly cracked structure and at the end of the test. A time‐varying stiffness matrix and a non‐proportional damping matrix fitted to the test results may be used to reproduce the measured response approximately by modal superposition and identify the role of the four time‐varying modes. Flexible side columns sustained very large drift demands simultaneously in the two transverse directions and suffered significant but not heavy, damage at lap‐splices. RC‐jacketing of the flexible side columns practically eliminated the static eccentricity between the floor centres of twist and mass as well as the torsional response. Inelastic time‐history analysis with point‐hinge member models, using as elastic stiffness the secant stiffness to yielding and neglecting post‐ultimate‐strength cyclic degradation of resistance in members with plain bars and poor detailing, predicted fairly well the response until the peak displacements and member deformations occurred. After that, it underestimated displacement peaks and the lengthening of the apparent period and missed the gradual drifting of the response towards a permanent offset. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response control of smart sliding isolated buildings using variable stiffness systems: an experimental and numerical study

Effectiveness of a new semiactive independently variable stiffness (SAIVS) device in reducing seismic response of sliding base isolated buildings is evaluated analytically and experimentally. Through analytical and experimental study of force—displacement behaviour of the SAIVS device, it is shown that the device can vary stiffness continuously and smoothly between minimum and maximum stiffness. Passive sliding base isolation systems reduce interstorey drifts and superstructure accelerations, but with increased base displacements, which is undesirable, under large velocity near fault pulse type earthquakes. It is a common practice to incorporate non‐linear passive dampers into the isolation system to reduce bearing displacements. Incorporation of passive dampers, however, may result in increased superstructure accelerations and drifts; while, properly designed passive dampers can be beneficial. A viable alternative is to use semiactive variable stiffness systems, which can vary the period of the sliding base isolated buildings in real time, to simultaneously reduce bearing displacements and superstructure responses further than the passive systems, which deserves investigation. This study investigates the performance of a 1:5 scaled smart sliding base isolated building model equipped with the SAIVS device analytically and experimentally, under near fault earthquakes, by developing a new moving average non‐linear tangential stiffness control algorithm for control of the SAIVS device. The SAIVS device reduces bearing displacements further than the passive cases, while maintaining isolation level forces and superstructure responses at the same level as the passive minimum stiffness case, indicating the significant potential of the SAIVS system. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

场地类别划分与抗震设计反应谱的讨论

介绍了新的抗震设计规范(2001—07—20发布，2002—01—01实施)中场地类别划分和地震影响系数的有关内容，指出其中一些不相协调之处。最后，针对不同的问题建议相应的解决办法。