• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.145-171
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• 2015

Due to earthquakes, many structures suffered extensive damages that were attributed to the torsional effect caused by mass, stiffness or strength eccentricity. Due to this type of asymmetry torsional moments are generated that are imposed by means of additional shear forces developed at the vertical resisting structural elements of the buildings. Although the torsional effect on the response of reinforced concrete buildings was the subject of extensive research over the last decades, a quantitative index measuring the amplification of the shear forces developed at the vertical resisting elements due to lateral-torsional coupling valid for both elastic and elastoplastic response states is still missing. In this study a reliable index capable of assessing the torsional effect is proposed. The performance of the proposed index is evaluated and its correlation with structural response quantities like displacements, interstorey drift, base torque, shear forces and upper diaphragm's rotation is presented. Torsionally stiff, mass eccentric single-story and multistory structures, subjected to bidirectional excitation, are considered and nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed using natural records selected for three hazard levels. It was found that the proposed index provides reliable prediction of the magnitude of torsional effect for all test examples considered.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.23-35
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• 2017

A nonlinear static procedure considering work-energy principle and global failure mechanism to estimate base shears of reinforced concrete (RC) frame-type structures is presented. The relative energy equation comprising of elastic vibrational energy, plastic strain energy and seismic input energy is obtained. The input energy is modified with a factor depending on damping ratio and ductility, and the energy that contributes to damage is obtained. The plastic energy is decreased with a factor to consider the reduced hysteretic behavior of RC members. Given the pre-selected failure mechanism, the modified energy balance equality is written using various approximations for modification factors of input energy and plastic energy in scientific literature. External work done by the design lateral forces distributed to story levels in accordance with Turkish Seismic Design Code is calculated considering the target plastic drift. Equating the plastic energy obtained from energy balance to external work done by the equivalent inertia forces considering, a total of 16 energy-based base shears for each frame are derived considering different combinations of modification factors. Ductility related parameters of modification factors are determined from pushover analysis. Relative input energy of multi degree of freedom (MDOF) system is approximated by using the modal-energy-decomposition approach. Energy-based design base shears are compared with those obtained from nonlinear time history (NLTH) analysis using recorded accelerograms. It is found that some of the energy-based base shears are in reasonable agreement with the mean base shear obtained from NLTH analysis.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.217-230
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• 2006

This paper describes a procedure to develop fragility curves for woodframe structures subjected to lateral wind loads. The fragilities are cast in terms of horizontal displacement criteria (maximum drift at the top of the shearwalls). The procedure is illustrated through the development of fragility curves for one and two-story residential woodframe buildings in high wind regions. The structures were analyzed using a monotonic pushover analysis to develop the relationship between displacement and base shear. The base shear values were then transformed to equivalent nominal wind speeds using information on the geometry of the baseline buildings and the wind load equations (and associated parameters) in ASCE 7-02. Displacement vs. equivalent nominal wind speed curves were used to determine the critical wind direction, and Monte Carlo simulation was used along with wind load parameter statistics provided by Ellingwood and Tekie (1999) to construct displacement vs. wind speed curves. Wind speeds corresponding to a presumed limit displacement were used to construct fragility curves. Since the fragilities were fit well using a lognormal CDF and had similar logarithmic standard deviations (${\xi}$), a quick analysis to develop approximate fragilities is possible, and this also is illustrated. Finally, a compound fragility curve, defined as a weighted combination of individual fragilities, is developed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.655-666
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• 2008

In the past 20 years, seismic isolation has see a variety of applications in design of structures to mitigate seismic hazard. In particular, isolation has been seen as a means of achieving enhanced seismic performance objectives, such as those for hospitals, critical emergency response facilities, mass electronic data storage centers, and similar buildings whose functionality following a major seismic event is either critical to the public welfare or the financial solvency of an organization. While achieving these enhanced performance objectives is a natural (and oftentimes requisite) application of seismic isolation, little attention has been given to the extension of current design practice to isolated buildings which may have more conventional performance objectives. The development of a rational design methodology for isolated buildings requires thorough investigation of the behavior of isolated structures subjected to seismic input of various recurrence intervals, and which are designed to remain elastic only under frequent events. This paper summarizes these investigations, and proposed a consistent probabilistic framework within which any combination of performance objectives may be met. Analytical simulations are presented, the results are summarized. The intent of this work is to allow a building owner to make informed decisions regarding tradeoffs between superstructure performance (drifts, accelerations) and isolation system performance. Within this framework, it is possible to realize the benefits of designing isolated buildings for which the design criteria allows consideration of multiple performance goals.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2017

The current paper investigates the effect of the seismic pounding of neighboring buildings on the response of structures isolated by Triple Friction Pendulum Bearing (TFPB). To this end, a symmetric three-dimensional single story building is modeled for analysis with two specified levels of top deck and base deck, to capture the seismic response of the base isolators and building's roof. Linear elastic springs with different level of gaps are employed to calculate the impact between the buildings. Nonlinear Dynamic Time History Analyses (NDTHA) are conducted for seismic evaluation. Also, five different sizes with four different sets of friction coefficients are assumed for base isolators to cover a whole range of base isolation systems with various geometry configurations and fundamental period. The results are investigated in terms of base shear, buildings' drift and top deck acceleration of the superstructure. The results also indicate the profound effect of the stiffness of the adjacent buildings on the value of the impact they impose to the superstructure. Also, in situations of potential pounding, the increment of the fundamental period of the TFPB base isolator could intensify the impact force up to nearly five-fold.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2017

A novel post-tensioned self-centering (SC) concrete beam-column connection with web friction devices has been proposed for concrete moment-resisting frames. This paper presents a probabilistic performance evaluation procedure to evaluate the performance of the self-centering concrete frame with the proposed post-tensioned beam-column connections. Two performance limit states, i.e., immediate occupancy (IO) and repairable (RE) limit states, are defined based on peak and residual story drift ratios. Statistical analyses of seismic demands revealed that the dispersion of residual drifts is larger than that of peak drifts. Due to self-centering feature of post-tensioning connections, the SC frame was found to have high probabilities to be recentered under the design basis earthquake (DBE) and maximum considered earthquake (MCE) ground motions. Seismic risk analysis was performed to determine the annual (50-year) probability of exceedance for IO and RE performance limit states, and the results revealed that the design objectives of the SC frame would be met under the proposed performance-based design approach.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.501-513
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• 2017

To investigate the seismic performance of Y-shaped eccentrically braced frames fabricated with high-strength steel (Y-HSS-EBFs), a shake table test of a 1:2 scaled three-story Y-HSS-EBF specimen was performed. The input wave for the shake table test was generated by the ground motions of El Centro, Taft, and Lanzhou waves. The dynamic properties, acceleration, displacement, and strain responses were obtained from the test specimen and compared with previous test results. In addition, a finite element model of the test specimen was established using the SAP2000 software. Results from the numerical analysis were compared with the test specimen results. During the shake table test, the specimen exhibited sufficient overall structural stiffness and safety but suffered some localized damage. The lateral stiffness of the structure degenerated during the high seismic intensity earthquake. The maximum elastic and elastoplastic interstory drift of the test specimen for different peak ground accelerations were 1/872 and 1/71, respectively. During the high seismic intensity earthquake, the links of the test specimen entered the plastic stage to dissipate the earthquake energy, while other structural members remained in the elastic stage. The Y-HSS-EBF is a safe, dual system with reliable seismic performance. The numerical analysis results were in useful agreement with the test results. This finding indicated that the finite element model in SAP2000 provided a very accurate prediction of the Y-HSS-EBF structure's behavior during the seismic loadings.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.60-67
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• 2004

The designer of a tall building even in moderate and low seismic regions should, in finalizing the desist consider the probable impact of the design basis earthquake on the selected structural system. In this study, seismic response analysis was conducted to evaluate the seismic performance of concentrically braced steel highrise buildings which were designed only for governing wind loading under moderate seismicity. The main purpose of this analysis was to see if the wind design would create a system whose elastic capacity clearly exceeds the probable demand as suggested by the design basis earthquake. The strength demand-to-capacity study revealed that the wind-designed steel highrise buildings with the aspect ratio of larger than five can withstand the design basis earthquake elastically by a sufficient margin due to the system over-strength resulting from the wind-serviceability criterion. The maximum story drift demand from the design basis earthquake was just 0.25% (or half the limit of Immediate Occupancy performance level in FEMA 273)

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.49-64
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• 2014

Natural vibration period is an important parameter for high-rise building, Based on 414 high-rise buildings completed or passed over-limit approval in China, the distribution law of natural vibration periods is analyzied. In order to satisfy the design requirements, such as global stability, story drift limit and minimum shear-gravity ratio, the reference ranges of fundamental periods $T_1$ are $0.3{\sqrt{H}}{\sim}0.4{\sqrt{H}}$ when the structural heights $H{\geq}250m$, when 150 m ${\leq}$ H < 250m, $T_1=0.25{\sqrt{H}}{\sim}0.4{\sqrt{H}}$, when 100 m ${\leq}$ H < 150 m, $T_1=0.2{\sqrt{H}}{\sim}0.35{\sqrt{H}}$, when 50 m $ {\leq}$ H < 100m, $T_1=0.15{\sqrt{H}}{\sim}0.3{\sqrt{H}}$. These can provide reference data for controlling mass and rigidity of high-rise buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.641-656
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• 2016

Reinforced concrete frame buildings with masonry infill walls are one of the most popular structural systems in the world. In most cases, the effects of masonry infill walls are not considered in structural models. The results of earthquakes show that infill walls have a significant effect on the seismic response of buildings. In some cases, the buildings collapsed as a result of the formation of a soft story. This study developed a simple method, called corner opening, by replacing the corner of infill walls with a very flexible material to enhance the structural behavior of walls. To evaluate the proposed method a series of experiments were conducted on masonry infill wall and reinforced concrete frames with and without corner openings. Two 1:4 scale masonry infill walls with and without corner openings were tested under diagonal tension or shear strength and two RC frames with full infill walls and with corner opening infill walls were tested under monotonic horizontal loading up to a drift level of 2.5%. The experimental results revealed that the proposed method reduced the strength of infill wall specimens but considerably enhanced the ductility of infill wall specimens in the diagonal tension test. Moreover, the corner opening in infill walls prevented the slid shear failure of the infill wall in RC frames with infill walls.