On the analysis of multilevel rocking cores—A bioinspired analogy

Abstract

This article presents a simple analogy, with practical applications, between the human spine and multilevel rocking cores (MLRCs) under similar loading conditions. The use of energy dissipating rocking cores in general and MLRCs in particular is a relatively new concept for reducing earthquake damage in new and existing buildings. The literature on the subject is rather scant. There are neither official guidelines nor educational materials for practical design of MLRCs. The first step toward rational design of MLRCs is to understand their elastic state static/dynamic behavior as part of a gravity and/or earthquake resisting system. The purpose of the current paper is not to reiterate the merits of various rocking systems but to provide reliable formulae for the preliminary design of simple MLRCs. Suffice to note that the multitude of gap movements in MLRCs results in increased damping and elongated periods of vibrations. Several parametric examples have been provided to demonstrate the applications, the validity, and the simplicity of the proposed solutions. All solutions are exact within the bounds of the theoretical assumptions. All results have been verified by independent computer analysis.

A discontinuous cantilever beam analogy for quantifying higher mode demands in stacked rocking cores

“…Accordingly, the new concept of resilience‐based design with the aims of rapid repairs and realignment is developed for performance‐based design guidelines. [ 1 ] Inspired by recent research works, [ 2–4 ] the new technologies of seismic resisting structural systems, such as self‐centering braced frame, [ 5,6 ] timber rocking walls, [ 7,8 ] vertical seismic isolated rocking core, [ 9 ] rocking wall–frame systems, [ 10,11 ] masonry rocking walls, [ 12,13 ] rocking core–moment frame systems, [ 14,15 ] and stacked rocking cores (SRCs), [ 16–18 ] have emerged. The ability of these structural systems to reduce permanent damage mitigates earthquake‐induced losses and meets the sustainable design goals.…”

“…Martin and Deierlein [ 31 ] proposed a modified version of the sequential linear programming [ 32 ] for structural optimization of stacked rocking spine systems and shown a drastic reduction in seismic demands for high‐rise buildings with two rocking hinges. Grigorian and Kamizi [ 17 ] presented a bioinspired analogy for predicting lateral displacements and frequencies of multilevel rocking cores. The drift projection method presented in this research provided a theoretical method to formulate generalized displacement profiles.…”