Earthquake induced torsion in buildings: critical review and state of the art

The problem of earthquake induced torsion in buildings is quite old and although it has received a lot of attention in the past several decades, it is still open. This is evident not only from the variability of the pertinent provisions in various modern codes but also from conflicting results debated in the literature. Most of the conducted research on this problem has been based on very simplified, highly idealized models of eccentric one-story systems, with single or double eccentricity and with load bearing elements of the shear beam type, sized only for earthquake action. Initially, elastic models were used but were gradually replaced by inelastic models, since building response under design level earthquakes is expected to be inelastic. Code provisions till today have been based mostly on results from one-story inelastic models or on results from elastic multistory idealizations. In the past decade, however, more accurate multi story inelastic building response has been studied using the well-known and far more accurate plastic hinge model for flexural members. On the basis of such research some interesting conclusions have been drawn, revising older views about the inelastic response of buildings based on one-story simplified model results. The present paper traces these developments and presents new findings that can explain long lasting controversies in this area and at the same time may raise questions about the adequacy of code provisions based on results from questionable models. To organize this review better it was necessary to group the various publications into a number of subtopics and within each subtopic to separate them into smaller groups according to the basic assumptions and/or limitations used. Capacity assessment of irregular buildings and new technologies to control torsional motion have also been included.