Coupled lateral-torsional behaviour of frame structures under earthquake loading

A series of parametrically defined experimental model structures has been tested under earthquake base loading using the SERC national U.K. earthquake simulator. The models have been designed with variable ratios of torsional to lateral stiffness, and with both symmetric and asymmetric mass distributions. This paper first describes the tests carried out to determine the basic dynamic model properties and the establishment of idealized analytical models which give accurate predictions of model behaviour under steady-state loading and free-vibration conditions. Secondly, a detailed discussion is made of the two highly coupled structural models having uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency ratio R_f = 1.2, commenting on the ability of the modal analysis procedures to predict accurately the maximum recorded responses. It is concluded that the theory underestimates the significance of the fundamental torsional mode of vibration in the combined structural response, and overestimates the contribution of the first lateral mode. These effects compensate each other on the side of the structure which is most severely affected by torsional response, but produce large inaccuracies on the side of the building which is commonly assumed to be affected beneficially by torsional coupling.     

A modified static procedure for the design of torsionally unbalanced multistorey frame buildings

Seismic building codes include design provisions to account for the torsional effects arising in torsionally unbalanced (asymmetric) buildings. These provisions are based on two alternative analytical procedures for determining the design load for the individual resisting structural elements. A previous study has shown that the linear elastic modal analysis procedure may not lead to conservative designs, even for multistorey buildings with regular asymmetry, when such structures are excited well into the inelastic range of response. The equivalent static force procedure as recommended by codes may also be deficient in accounting for additional ductility demand in the critical stiff-edge elements. This paper addresses the non-conservatism of existing static torsional provisions and examines aspects of element strength distribution and its influence on inelastic torsional effects. A recommendation is made for improving the effectiveness of the code-type static force procedure for torsionally unbalanced multistorey frame buildings with regular asymmetry, leading to a design approach which estimates conservatively the peak ductility demand of edge elements on both sides of the building. The modified approach also retains the simplicity of existing code provisions and results in acceptable levels of additional lateral design strength. It has recently been adopted by the new Australian earthquake code, which is due to be implemented early in 1993.     

Inelastic seismic response of code-designed multistorey frame buildings with regular asymmetry

Based on an asymmetric multistorey frame building model, this paper investigates the influence of a building's higher vibration modes on its inelastic torsional response and evaluates the adequacy of the provisions of current seismic building codes and the modal analysis procedure in accounting for increased ductility demand in frames situated at or near the stiff edge of such buildings. It is concluded that the influence of higher vibration modes on the response of the upper-storey columns of stiff-edge frames increases significantly with the building's fundamental uncoupled lateral period and the magnitude of the stiffness eccentricity. The application of the equivalent static torsional provisions of certain building codes may lead to non-conservative estimates of the peak ductility demand, particularly for structures with large stiffness eccentricity. In these cases, the critical elements are vulnerable to excessive additional ductility demand and, hence, may be subject to significantly more severe structural damage than in corresponding symmetric buildings. It is found that regularly asymmetric buildings excited well into the inelastic range may not be conservatively designed using linear elastic modal analysis theory. Particular caution is required when applying this method to the design of stiff-edge frame elements in highly asymmetric structures.     

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 torsional response and design procedures for a class of setback frame buildings

This paper presents results of an analytical study of the inelastic earthquake torsional response of a class of setback frame buildings. In the first part of the study, the modal response spectrum analysis procedure is utilized to determine the yielding strengths of structural members in an idealized but representative setback frame building model. Results are then presented for the inelastic dynamic response of this setback building model subjected to an ensemble of six earthquake ground motions. The results indicate that the modal response spectrum analysis procedure is inadequate for preventing excessive response leading to concentration of damage in vulnerable structural members, such as those in the tower near the notch and those in the base (the part of the structure below the tower) near the perimeter at the opposite side of the tower. The second part of the study develops a modified equivalent static force procedure for strength design of such setback frame buildings. Response analyses show that the proposed procedure results in improved and satisfactory inelastic performance of the selected class of setback frame buildings, having a wide range of realistic configurations.     

A modal pushover analysis procedure to estimate seismic demands for unsymmetric‐plan buildings

An Erratum has been published for this article in Earthquake Engng. Struct. Dyn. 2004; 33:1429. Based on structural dynamics theory, the modal pushover analysis (MPA) procedure retains the conceptual simplicity of current procedures with invariant force distribution, now common in structural engineering practice. The MPA procedure for estimating seismic demands is extended to unsymmetric‐plan buildings. In the MPA procedure, the seismic demand due to individual terms in the modal expansion of the effective earthquake forces is determined by non‐linear static analysis using the inertia force distribution for each mode, which for unsymmetric buildings includes two lateral forces and torque at each floor level. These ‘modal’ demands due to the first few terms of the modal expansion are then combined by the CQC rule to obtain an estimate of the total seismic demand for inelastic systems. When applied to elastic systems, the MPA procedure is equivalent to standard response spectrum analysis (RSA). The MPA estimates of seismic demand for torsionally‐stiff and torsionally‐flexible unsymmetric systems are shown to be similarly accurate as they are for the symmetric building; however, the results deteriorate for a torsionally‐similarly‐stiff unsymmetric‐plan system and the ground motion considered because (a) elastic modes are strongly coupled, and (b) roof displacement is underestimated by the CQC modal combination rule (which would also limit accuracy of RSA for linearly elastic systems). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Systematic assessment of irregular building–soil interaction using efficient modal analysis

In this paper an efficient methodology applying modal analysis is developed to assess systematically the combined soil–structure interaction and torsional coupling effects on asymmetric buildings. This method is implemented in the frequency domain to accurately incorporate the frequency‐dependent foundation impedance functions. For extensively extracting the soil–structure interaction effects, a diagonal transfer matrix in the modal space is derived. A comprehensive investigation of asymmetric building–soil interaction can then be conveniently conducted by examining various types of response quantities. Results of parametric study show that the increasing height‐to‐base ratio of a structure generally amplifies its translational and torsional responses. Moreover, both the translational and torsional responses are reduced for the case where the two resonant frequencies are well separated and this reduction is enhanced with the decreasing values of the relative soil stiffness and the height‐to‐base ratio. The most noteworthy phenomenon may be the fact that the SSI effects can enlarge the translational response if the structure is slender and the two resonant frequencies are very close. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using accidental eccentricity in code-specified static and dynamic analyses of buildings

The differences between the increase in building response due to accidental eccentricity predicted by code-specified static and dynamic analyses are studied for symmetric and unsymmetric single and multistorey buildings. The increase in response computed from static analysis of the building is obtained by applying the equivalent static forces at distance e_a, equal to the storey accidental eccentricity, from the centre of mass at each floor. Alternatively, this increase in response is computed by dynamic analysis of the building with the centre of mass of each floor shifted through a distance e_a from its nominal position. A parametric study is performed on single-storey systems in order to evaluate the differences in response predicted by both analysis procedures. It is shown that these results are essentially the same as the ones obtained for a special class of multistorey systems. Upper and lower bounds for the differences in response computed from static and dynamic analyses are obtained for general multistorey systems. These differences in response depend primarily on the ratio of the fundamental torsional and lateral frequencies of the building. They are larger for small values of the frequency ratio and decrease to zero as the frequency ratio becomes large. Further, these discrepancies are in many cases of the same order as the code-intended increase in response due to accidental eccentricity. This implies that the code-specified static and dynamic analyses to account for accidental torsion should be modified to be mutually consistent.     

An alternative approach for computing seismic response with accidental eccentricity

Accidental eccentricity is a non-standard assumption for seismic design of tall buildings. Taking it into consideration requires reanalysis of seismic resistance, which requires either time consuming computation of natural vibration of eccentric structures or finding a static displacement solution by applying an approximated equivalent torsional moment for each eccentric case. This study proposes an alternative modal response spectrum analysis(MRSA) approach to calculate seismic responses with accidental eccentricity. The proposed approach, called the Rayleigh Ritz Projection-MRSA(RRP-MRSA), is developed based on MRSA and two strategies:(a) a RRP method to obtain a fast calculation of approximate modes of eccentric structures; and(b) an approach to assemble mass matrices of eccentric structures. The efficiency of RRP-MRSA is tested via engineering examples and compared with the standard MRSA(ST-MRSA) and one approximate method, i.e., the equivalent torsional moment hybrid MRSA(ETM-MRSA). Numerical results show that RRP-MRSA not only achieves almost the same precision as ST-MRSA, and is much better than ETM-MRSA, but is also more economical. Thus, RRP-MRSA can be in place of current accidental eccentricity computations in seismic design.     

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.     

对称结构在水平地震作用下的扭转效应和抗扭设计探讨

针对水平地震作用下对称结构抗扭设计中存在的问题,分析了对称结构扭转振动的原因,然后分别采用静力和动力方法研究了考虑偶然偏心作用时结构反应的增大效应,比较了这两种方法计算结果的异同,最后结合我国抗震规范提出了适当的结论和改进建议,为对称结构的抗扭设计提供了理论依据。     

Nonlinear seismic analysis of unsymmetric-plan structures retrofitted by hysteretic damped braces

A displacement-based design procedure using hysteretic damped braces (HYDBs) is proposed for the seismic retrofitting of unsymmetric-plan structures. An expression of the viscous damping equivalent to the hysteretic energy dissipated by the damped braced frame is proposed under bidirectional seismic loads, where corrective factors are assumed as a function of design parameters of the HYDBs. To this end, the nonlinear dynamic analysis of an equivalent two degree of freedom system is firstly carried out on seven pairs of real ground motions whose displacement response spectra match, on average, the design spectrum proposed by the Italian seismic code for a high-risk seismic zone and a medium subsoil class. Then, the extended N2 method considered by the European seismic code, which combines the nonlinear static analysis along the in-plan principal directions of the structure with elastic modal analysis, is adopted to evaluate the higher mode torsional effects. The town hall of Spilinga (Italy), a reinforced concrete (r.c.) framed building with an L-shaped plan, is supposed to be retrofitted with HYDBs. Six structural solutions are compared considering two alternative in-plan distributions of the HYDBs, to eliminate (elastic) torsional effects, and three design values of the frame ductility combined with a constant design value of the damper ductility. To check the effectiveness and reliability of the DBD procedure, the nonlinear static analysis of the test structures is carried out, by evaluating the vulnerability index of r.c. frame members and the ductility demand of HYDBs for different in-plan directions of the seismic loads.     

Parametric analysis of eccentric structure–soil interaction system based on branch mode decoupling method

In order to carry out parametric analysis of eccentric structure–soil interaction system, an analytical model based on branch mode decoupling method is presented in this paper. The solution of system equations is implemented in the frequency domain by assuming that the superstructure maintains classic normal modes. The transfer functions of translational and torsional response are derived later. The influence of eccentricity ratio, torsional to translational frequency ratio, height-to-base ratio and foundation flexibility on the curve and peak value of transfer functions and torsionally coupled degree are analyzed and discussed systematically. Results of analysis indicate that the flexibility of foundation soil can weaken the torsional response of superstructure substantially, and the natural frequencies of interaction system reduce as the flexibility of foundation soil increase. The influence of eccentricity ratio on the peak values of transfer functions varies with the torsional to translational frequency ratio, which can be summarized as the decrease of translational component and the increase of torsional component. The translational displacement of SSI system is larger than that of fixed-base condition, while the deformation amplitude is notably reduced. The torsional response decreases as well. As the height-to-base ratio increase, the varying tendency of response is further enhanced. The torsionally coupled degree of eccentric structure is remarkably affected by the torsional to translational frequency ratio, which is significantly reduced under soft soil condition.     

Parametric earthquake response of torsionally coupled buildings with foundation interaction

A study is made of the effect of soil-structure interaction on the coupled lateral and torsional responses of asymmetric buildings subjected to a series of historical free-field earthquake base motions. It sh shown that for particular classes of actual buildings the equivalent rigid-base responses are significantly increased for structures founded on medium-stiff soils, and hence the assumption of the major building codes that a conservative estimate of response is obtained by considering the structure to be fixed rigidly at its base is shown to be inconsistent with the presented dynamic results. It is shown that foundation interaction produces greatest amplification of torsional coupling effects for structures subjected to a particular class of European strong-motion earthquake records, identified by similarities in their spectral shape, for which the vibrational energy of the ground motion is distributed approximately uniformly over the range of frequencies which are of interest for real structures. It is recommended that provision be made in the torsional design procedures of building codes for the increase in the coupled torsional response due to soil-structure interaction as indicated in this study. Such provision should be based on the results of comprehensive parametric studies employing a wide selection of earthquake records and accounting for expected variations in localized soil conditions.     

Static equivalent method for the kinematic interaction analysis of single piles

This paper presents a static equivalent approach to estimate the maximum kinematic interaction effects on piles subjected to lateral seismic excitation. Closed-form expressions are reported for the evaluation of the maximum free-field soil movements and for the computation of maximum pile shear force and bending moments. Firstly, modal analysis, combined with a suitable damped response spectrum, is used to evaluate the maximum free-field response. Secondly, the pile is schematised as a Winkler's beam subjected to equivalent static forces defined according to soil vibration modal shapes and amplitude. The method may be applied by using response spectra suggested by National Standards or those obtained with accelerograms. The procedure proposed may be conveniently implemented in simple spreadsheets or in commercial finite element programs and easily used by practicing engineers. Method accuracy is demonstrated by comparing the results with those obtained with a more rigorous model. Good results may be achieved by considering only the first soil vibration mode making the procedure straightforward for practical design purposes.     

Evaluation of plan configuration irregularity effects on seismic response demands of L-shaped MRF buildings

Damage assessments after past earthquakes have frequently revealed that plan configuration irregular buildings have more severe damage due to excessive torsional responses and stress concentration than regular buildings. The plan configuration irregularities introduce major challenges in the seismic design of buildings. One such form of irregularity is the presence of re-entrant corners in the L-shaped buildings that causes stress concentration due to sudden changes in stiffness and torsional response amplification; hence causes early collapse. A constructive research into re-entrant corner and torsional irregularity problems is essentially needed greater than ever. Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate structural seismic response demands for the class of L-shaped buildings through evaluating the plan configuration irregularity of re-entrant corners and lateral–torsion coupling effects on measured seismic response demands. The measured responses include story drift, inter-story drift, story shear force, overturning moment, torsion moment at the base and over building height, and torsional irregularity ratio. Three dimensional finite element model for nine stories symmetric buildings as reference model is developed. In addition, six L-shaped building models are formulated with gradual reduction in the plan of the reference building model. The results prove that building models with high irregularity are more vulnerable due to the stress concentration and lateral torsional coupling behavior than that with regular buildings. In addition, the related lateral shear forces in vertical resisting elements located on the periphery of the L-shaped buildings could be significantly increased in comparison with the corresponding values for a symmetric building.     

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.     

Modal methods in the dynamics of systems with non-classical damping

When damping in a system is both significantly high and its distribution is non-classical the solution of dynamical problems by conventional modal analysis is complicated by the presence of coupling between the normal co-ordinates. Further, the convergence of a solution may be erratic with successive modal additions, leading to the need to include a larger number of modes than would otherwise be expected. In this paper methods of modal analysis in structural dynamics are discussed and their derivations briefly given. These include the conventional mode displacement method and the force summation method, employing normal modes, and the analogous procedures with damped modes. In the latter, dynamic response equations are not coupled. Dynamic loading solutions by the four approaches, each taking account of the non-classical damping distribution, are demonstrated with a simple model representing a structure on a compliant foundation. The results strongly suggest that the use of damped modes with force summation could be the most effective procedure when damping is non-classical.     

Response of circular flexible foundations subjected to horizontal and rocking motions

A methodology using modal analysis is developed to evaluate dynamic vertical displacements of a circular flexible foundation resting on soil media subjected to horizontal and rocking motions. The influence of the soil reaction forces on the foundation is considered by introducing modal impedance functions, which can be determined by an efficient procedure with ring elements. The displacements of the foundation can then be easily solved by modal superposition. Parametric studies for modal responses of the flexible foundation indicate that the coupled response of the foundation is significantly influenced by relative stiffness among the foundation and the soil medium, vibration frequency range, foundation mass, and boundary contact conditions. The welded boundary condition should be considered to predict the coupling response while the relaxed boundary condition may be used to predict approximately the vertical displacements. As a foundation with a relative stiffness ratio more than three, it is found that the foundation can be considered as rigid to calculate coupling displacements. For a slightly flexible foundation, considerations of three modes are sufficient enough to obtain accurate foundation responses. Moreover, at low frequencies, the coupling effect due to higher mode can be neglected.     

Parametric time‐domain identification of multiple‐input systems using decoupled output signals

Civil engineering structures are often subjected to multidirectional actions such as earthquake ground motion, which lead to complex structural responses. The contributions from the latter multidirectional actions to the response are highly coupled, leading to a MIMO system identification problem. Compared with single‐input, multiple‐output (SIMO) system identification, MIMO problems are more computationally complex and error prone. In this paper, a new system identification strategy is proposed for civil engineering structures with multiple inputs that induce strong coupling in the response. The proposed solution comprises converting the MIMO problem into separate SIMO problems, decoupling the outputs by extracting the contribution from the respective input signals to the outputs. To this end, a QR factorization‐based decoupling method is employed, and its performance is examined. Three factors, which affect the accuracy of the decoupling result, including memory length, input correlation, and system damping, are investigated. Additionally, a system identification method that combines the autoregressive model with exogenous input (ARX) and the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) is proposed. The associated extended modal amplitude coherence and modal phase collinearity are used to delineate the structural and noise modes in the fitted ARX model. The efficacy of the ARX‐ERA method is then demonstrated through identification of the modal properties of a highway overcrossing bridge. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.