Enhancing Building Resistance to Differential Settlement with Canadian Seismic Design Provisions

Abstract

Enhancing Building Resistance to Differential Settlement with Canadian Seismic Design Provisions Romaric Léo Esteban DesbroussesThis research project focuses on evaluating the influence of Canadian seismic design provisions on the resistance of reinforced concrete buildings against the differential settlement of their foundation. Three types of moment-resisting frame buildings located Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto are designed in accordance with the latest editions of the National Building Code of Canada and the Canadian concrete design standards. These locations are selected to represent high, moderate, and low seismic hazard regions respectively. The buildings in each location are designed for three span lengths, namely, 4m, 6m and 8m. A total of nine finite element models are developed using SAP2000 with structural element non-linearity being represented through plastic hinges at the ends of beams and columns. Both P-delta effects and the interaction between axial loads and moments are considered in the modeling. A non-linear analysis is performed on each model by gradually subjecting a center column to a settlement of 100mm. The analysis reveals that buildings with a shorter span (e.g., 4m) length are more vulnerable to settlementinduced damage than buildings with longer spans (e.g., 8m). Failure of the settling column occurs at settlements that exceed the range of maximum allowable differential settlements prescribed in the Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual. However, all the studied buildings survive the maximum 0.75-inch settlement allowed by ACI. Failure of the buildings is only observed at excessive settlements such as 50mm for the 4m-span This project would not have been possible without her help.I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the faculty and staff in the department who made me feel part of the Concordia family throughout the course of both my undergraduate and graduate studies at the university, and who were always happy to lend me a helping hand. Special thanks are due to Dr. Jassim Hassan whose office door was always open to me whenever I needed help and thanks to whom I became a teaching assistant.I am very grateful for my laboratory partners whose friendliness, support, and engineering expertise were very much appreciated, particularly Mahmoud Khalifa and Abdelhady Hosny who always took the time to answer my questions.Last but not least, I am incredibly thankful for my friends and loved ones who have supported me throughout my journey as a research student. viTABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .

Experimental investigation on structural response of multi-story buildings subjected to differential settlement of its foundations

“…They reported that buildings with a shorter span length are more vulnerable to settlement-induced damage than buildings with longer spans. A nonlinear analysis was performed on a center column to a settlement of 100 mm (Romaric Leo and Lan Lin, 2021).…”