Trends of Internal Forces in Concrete Floor Diaphragms of Multi-Storey Structures During Seismic Shaking

Abstract eng:
Simplistic design methods are commonly employed by design engineers to determine the approximate magnitude and distribution of inertial forces in reinforced concrete floor diaphragms of multi-storey buildings. Various researchers have identified that the commonly employed simplistic design method, the Equivalent Static Analysis (ESA) method, in some cases, provides an inadequate outcome for the estimation of forces that develop in floor diaphragms. This research investigates the magnitude and trends of forces in concrete floor diaphragms, with an emphasis on transfer (compatibility) forces, under seismic loading. The first part of this research investigates a new pseudo-Equivalent Static Analysis (pESA) method for determining inertial forces in floor diaphragms. The pESA method was found to provide adequate results for regular structures in comparison to the more sophisticated non-linear time history analysis results. The second part of this paper describes research that investigates the magnitude of transfer and total forces within reinforced concrete floor diaphragms of structures with vertical elements of varying stiffness (different sized frames or walls or a combination of walls and frames). These forces were investigated using non-linear time history analysis. The effects of: structural ductility, the ratio of the stiffness of vertical lateral force resisting elements, the strength of the connection element between the lateral force resisting systems, the structural height and various modeling sensitivities on the magnitude of transfer and total forces were investigated. The main outcomes of this research are identifying appropriate methods for the design of floor forces and determining trends associated with transfer floor forces.

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