Spatial distribution of seismic responses in tall buildings

Abstract

Seismic design of tall buildings is mostly achieved by a performance-based approach followed by a series of deformation- and force-based response assessments. This approach does not include explicit quantification of ductility or damage induced to structures. The aim of this study is therefore to propose an alternative seismic design method for tall buildings by introducing the spatial distribution of the ductility and damage index. The method comprises overall response assessment considering seismic directionality effects in the estimation of critical responses polarised along non-principal planar directions. Height-wise response distributions can also be studied if the spatial distribution formulation is extended in terms of inter-storey demand parameters. A case study was done on a 42-storey building with concrete core wall dual system by conducting multi-direction pushover and non-linear response history analyses. Regression analyses indicated up to 35% and 40% increase of the critical responses due to the directionality effects on planar and vertical response distributions.