Time history comparative analyses of a thin-walled cold-formed steel structure considering P-D effect

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative time history analysis based on the 1D-beam Finite Element Method (FEM) for a thin-walled cold-formed steel structure previously investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The recent earthquake which occurred in Turkey with 7.8Mw and a Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of almost 0.5g showed numerous collapses of different types of buildings. Romania has an active seismic area located in the Vrancea region where, in 1977 a 7.5Mw earthquake also occurred. In this context, this paper presents a comparative analysis with time history accelerograms of the recorded earthquake in North – South and East - West directions. The structural model was analyzed in Robot Structural Analysis software in two scenarios of the time history accelerograms considering also the P-Δ effect. The finite elements of the structure were defined as 1-D beam elements with hinged joints and limited axial stiffness previously obtained in past studies. The results showed a substantial increase in terms of displacements and stresses.