An efficient methodology for simulating earthquake‐induced 3D pounding of buildings

Abstract

SUMMARYThe current paper presents an efficient methodology for numerically simulating in three dimensions adjacent buildings that may experience pounding during strong earthquakes. In particular, a new approach to the numerical problem of spatial impact modeling that does not require the 'a priori' determination of the contact points is presented, taking also into account the geometry at the vicinity of an impact. In the current study, the buildings are simulated as linear multi-degree-of-freedom-systems, but the methodology can be easily extended to consider nonlinear behavior as well. A software application has been specifically developed to implement the proposed methodology, using modern object-oriented design and programming. The developed software is utilized in a simple example, and the computed results are compared with the corresponding analysis results obtained from a commercial general-purpose software application that uses typical contact elements for the simulation of impacts. A discussion follows on the advantages and capabilities of the proposed methodology and the developed software.

State-of-the-Art of Research on Seismic Pounding Between Buildings with Aligned Slabs

“…In any case, it is recommended to check this circumstance before making the final choice. Regarding this issue, the work [Polycarpou et al 2014] presents a methodology where the "a priori" determination of the contact points is not required.…”

Effect of Ground Motion Directionality on Seismic Response of Base-Isolated Buildings Considering Pounding to Adjacent Structures

“…This research work utilizes the computational methodology described in [18,20], aiming to thoroughly investigate the circumstances under which spatial pounding of base-isolated buildings may occur and assess the effect of some important parameters on the peak structural response due to potential structural pounding. In order to efficiently and effectively estimate the impact forces that should be applied at detected impact points on each structure in contact, an appropriate 3D impact model is used.…”

“…In order to efficiently and effectively estimate the impact forces that should be applied at detected impact points on each structure in contact, an appropriate 3D impact model is used. More precisely, a "penalty" method has been implemented [20], in which a small interpenetration among two colliding bodies is allowed and used in combination with an impact stiffness coefficient to calculate the elastic impact forces that should be applied on the colliding bodies. It should be mentioned that in the methodology used herein, the area of the overlapping region, instead of the interpenetration depth, is used as the key variable in the calculation of impact forces.…”

Seismic analysis of adjacent buildings subjected to double pounding considering soil–structure interaction

“…Studies on the effect of the mass distribution on pounding structures (Cole et al 2011), pounding of seismically isolated buildings (Polycarpou and Komodromos 2010), 3D pounding of buildings (Polycarpou et al 2014(Polycarpou et al , 2015, eccentric building pounding (Wang et al 2009), heavier adjacent building pounding (Jankowski 2008), mid-column building pounding, and corner building pounding (Papadrakakis et al 1996) are also some important examples. Although these studies significantly contribute to the field, they did not account for the influence of the underlying soil on building pounding.…”