4D Journal of Technology and Science

@4D Crossconnect.com, Inc, 2012

www.4dinternationaljournal.com
Vol.1, Issue1, 2013

STUDY OF BUILDINGS DUCTILE FOR SEISMIC

PERFORMANCE
J.venkateswara Rao1

ABSTRACT
One of the major developments in seismic design over the past 10 years has been increased
emphasis on limit states design, now generally termed Performance Based Engineering. Three
techniques the capacity spectrum approach, the N2 method and direct displacement-based
design have now matured to the stage where seismic assessment of existing structures or design
of new structures can be carried out to ensure that particular deformation-based criteria are met.
Following the worldwide recognized expectation and ideal aim to provide a modern society with
high seismic performance structures, able to sustain a design level earthquake with limited or
negligible damage, emerging solutions have been developed for high-performance, still costeffective, seismic resisting systems, based on adequate combination of traditional materials and
available technology. In this paper, an overview of recent developments and on-going research
on precast concrete buildings with jointed ductile connections, relying on the use of unbonded
post-tensioned tendons with self-centering capabilities, is given. A critical discussion on the
conceptual behavior, design criteria and modeling aspects is carried out along with an update on
current trends in major international seismic code provisions to incorporate these emerging
systems. The solution to further confirmation of the easy constructability and speed of erection
of the overall system has been taken into consideration.
INTRODUCTION
Seismic performance defines a structure's ability to sustain its main functions, such as
its safety and serviceability, at and after a particular earthquake exposure. A structure is,
normally, considered safe if it does not endanger the lives and well-being of those in or around it
by partially or completely collapsing. A structure may be considered serviceable if it is able to
fulfill its operational functions for which it was designed.Basic concepts of the earthquake
engineering, implemented in the major building codes, assume that a building should survive a
rare, very severe earthquake by sustaining significant damage but without globally collapsing
. On the other hand, it should remain operational for more frequent, but less severe seismic
events.Engineers need to know the quantified level of the actual or anticipated seismic
1

Can be reached at drjvrao2007@yahoo.com

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performance associated with the direct damage to an individual building subject to a specified
ground shaking. Such an assessment may be performed either experimentally or analytically.
Experimental evaluations are expensive tests that are typically done by placing a (scaled) model
of the structure on a shake-table that simulates the earth shaking and observing its
behavior.[6] Such kinds of experiments were first performed more than a century ago.Still only
recently has it become possible to perform 1:1 scale testing on full structures.
Due to the costly nature of such tests, they tend to be used mainly for understanding the seismic
behavior of structures, validating models and verifying analysis methods. Thus, once properly
validated, computational models and numerical procedures tend to carry the major burden for the
seismic performance assessment of structures.
The structural overstrength factor, which can be determined from analytical studies, depends on
structural redundancy, story drift limitations, multiple load combinations, strain hardening,
participation of nonstructural elements, and other parameters. Although the ductility factor of an
individual structural member can be determined experimentally. There is no general agreement
within the profession of how the concept of ductility factor should be applied at the structural
system level.( ChiaMing Uang, Associate Member, ASCE)
Several classes of buildings, which are representative of typical buildings based on year of
construction and brittle pre-Northridge connections, were designed in accordance with the 1973,
1985, and 1994 UBC provisions. Then, the frame analysis models were developed including the
effects of brittle connections, panel zone deformation, and interior gravity frames. Based on the
drift demands and capacities calculated using each set of 20 SAC ground motions representing
2/50 and 50/50 hazard levels, a performance prediction and evaluation procedure based on the
reliability framework is presented. Confidence levels that existing buildings will exceed the
predefined performance level for different hazard levels are calculated. The pre-Northridge
design and construction represented by the old building codes and brittle connections force the
buildings to experience large seismic demand and result in a low confidence level in achieving
the desired performance levels(Khak Lee and Douglas A. Foutch)
In explores the current building code seismic design requirements for typical buildings in
regions of moderate seismic hazard. In particular, the costs and benefits of various levels of
ductile connection detailing requirements are reviewed for steel buildings constructed in the
northeastern United States. The design of lateral force resisting systems for seismic forces has
been required in the northeast states for over 20 years. However, recent building codes have
introduced special ductile detailing requirements that substantially increase the cost of building
connections and lateral force resisting system framing. In general, these increased costs for
improved ductility allow for the proportioning of members based on assumptions of higher levels
of inelasticity, and thus lower member forces, in the response of the structure. In regions of high
seismicity, the benefits of such ductile detailing are clear as they improve building performance
and allow for economical design of structures for more severe earthquake effects. In regions of
moderate seismicity, the cost of these details can be very high in comparison to conventional
details. Consequently, many engineers in the northeastern United States have questioned the
value of design for inelastic response in non-essential facilities.( Daniel P. Batt, P.E., M.ASCE;
and David J. Odeh, P.E., M.ASCE )
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Analysis
If two bars of same length and same cross-sectional area one made of ductile material and
another of a brittle material. And a pull is applied on both bars until they break, then we notice
that the ductile bar elongates by a large amount before it breaks, while the brittle bar breaks
suddenly on reaching its maximum strength at a relative small elongation. Amongst the materials
used in building construction, steel is ductile, while masonry and concrete are brittle.

Comparison of Brittle and Ductile Building materials

The correct building components need to be made ductile. The failure of columns can affect the
stability of building, but failure of a beam causes localized effect. Therefore, it is better to make
beams to be ductile weak links then columns. This method of designing RC buildings is called
the strong-column weak-beam design method. Special design provisions from IS: 139201993 for RC structures ensures that adequate ductility is provided in the members where damage
is expected.
Quality Control in Construction-The capacity design concept in earthquake resistant design of
buildings will fail if the strengths of the brittle links fall below their minimum assured values.
The strength of brittle construction materials, like masonry and concrete is highly sensitive to the
quality of construction materials. Workmanship, supervision, and construction methods.
Similarly, special care is needed in construction to ensure that the elements meant to be ductile
are indeed provided with features that give adequate ductility. Thus, strict adherence to
prescribed standards, of construction materials and processes is essential in assuring an
earthquake resistant building. Regular testing of materials to laboratories, periodic training of
workmen at professional training houses, and on-site evaluation of the technical work are
elements of good quality control.
it is easiest to see the principle at work by referring directly to the most widely used of these
advanced techniques, known as base isolation. A base isolated structure is supported by a series
of bearing pads, which are placed between the buildings and building foundation.

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Base Isolation Technique

The concept of base isolation is explained through an example building resting on frictionless
rollers. When the ground shakes, the rollers freely roll, but the building above does not move.
Thus, no force is transferred to the building due to the shaking of the ground; simply, the
building does not experience the earthquake.
Now, if the same building is rested on the flexible pads that offer resistance against lateral
movements (fig 1b), then some effect of the ground shaking will be transferred to the building
above. If the flexible pads are properly chosen, the forces induced by ground shaking can be a
few times smaller than that experienced by the building built directly on ground, namely a fixed
base building (fig 1c). The flexible pads are called base-isolators, whereas the structures
protected by means of these devices are called base-isolated buildings. The main feature of the
base isolation technology is that it introduces flexibility in the structure.
As a result, a robust medium-rise masonry or reinforced concrete building becomes extremely
flexible. The isolators are often designed, to absorb energy and thus add damping to the system.
This helps in further reducing the seismic response of the building. Many of the base isolators
look like large rubber pads, although there are other types that are based on sliding of one part of
the building relative to other. Also, base isolation is not suitable for all buildings. Mostly low to
medium rise buildings rested on hard soil underneath; high-rise buildings or buildings rested on
soft soil are not suitable for base isolation.
Lead-rubber bearings are the frequently-used types of base isolation bearings. A lead rubber
bearing is made from layers of rubber sandwiched together with layers of steel. In the middle of
the solid lead plug. On top and bottom, the bearing is fitted with steel plates which are used to
attach the bearing to the building and foundation. The bearing is very stiff and strong in the
vertical direction, but flexible in the horizontal direction.

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Working of Isolation Base-To get a basic idea of how base isolation works, first examine the
above diagram. This shows an earthquake acting on base isolated building and a conventional,
fixed-base, building. As a result of an earthquake, the ground beneath each building begins to
move. Each building responds with movement which tends towards the right. The buildings
displacement in the direction opposite the ground motion is actually due to inertia. The inertia
forces acting on a building are the most important of all those generated during an earthquake.
In addition to displacing towards right, the un-isolated building is also shown to be changing its
shape from a rectangle to a parallelogram. We say that the building is deforming. The primary
cause of earthquake damage to buildings is the deformation which the building undergoes as a
result of the inertial forces upon it.
Response of Base Isolated Buildings-The base-isolated building retains its original, rectangular
shape. The base isolated building itself escapes the deformation and damage-which implies that
the inertial forces acting on the base isolated building have been reduced. Experiments and
observations of base-isolated buildings in earthquakes to as little as of the acceleration of
comparable fixed-base buildings.
Acceleration is decreased because the base isolation system lengthens a buildings period of
vibration, the time it takes for a building to rock back and forth and then back again. And in
general, structures with longer periods of vibration tend to reduce acceleration, while those with
shorter periods tend to increase or amplify acceleration.
Spherical Sliding Base Isolation

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Spherical Sliding Base Isolation

Spherical sliding isolation systems are another type of base isolation. The building is supported
by bearing pads that have a curved surface and low friction. During an earthquake the building is
free to slide on the bearings. Since the bearings have a curved surface, the building slides both
horizontally and vertically. The forces needed to move the building upwards limits the horizontal
or lateral forces which would otherwise cause building deformations. Also by adjusting the
radius of the bearings curved surface, this property can be used to design bearings that also
lengthen the buildings period of vibration.
Popular Earthquake Resistant Techniques-Conventional seismic design attempts to make
buildings that do not collapse under strong earthquake shaking, but may sustain damage to nonstructural elements (like glass facades) and to some structural members in the building. This may
render the building non-functional after the earthquake, which may be problematic in some
structures, like hospitals, which need to remain functional in the aftermath of earthquake. Special
techniques are required to design buildings such that they remain practically undamaged even in
a severe earthquake. Buildings with such improved seismic performance usually cost more than
the normal buildings do.
Two basic technologies are used to protect buildings from damaging earthquake effects. These
are Base Isolation Devices and Seismic Dampers. The idea behind base isolation is to detach
(isolate) the building from the ground in such a way that earthquake motions are not transmitted
up through the building or at least greatly reduced. Seismic dampers are special devices
introduced in the buildings to absorb the energy provided by the ground motion to the building
(much like the way shock absorbers in motor vehicles absorb due to undulations of the road.
New Breed of Energy Dissipation Devices-The innovative methods for control of seismic
vibrations such as frictional and other types of damping devices are important integral part of
seismic isolation systems as they severe as a barrier against the penetration of seismic energy
into the structure. In this concept, the dampers suppress the response of the isolated building
relative to its base.
The novel friction damper device consists of three steel plates rotating against each other in
opposite directions. The steel plates are separated by two shims of friction pad material
producing friction with steel plates.
When an external force excites a frame structure the girder starts to displace horizontally due to
this force. The damper will follow the motion and the central plate because of the tensile forces
in the bracing elements. When the applied forces are reversed, the plates will rotate in opposite
way. The damper dissipates energy by means of friction between the sliding surfaces.
The latest Friction-ViscoElastic Damper Device (F-VEDD) combines the advantages of pure
frictional and viscoelastic mechanisms of energy dissipation. This new product consists
of friction pads and viscoelastic polymer pads separated by steel plates. A prestressed bolt in
combination with disk springs and hardened washers is used for maintaining the required
clamping force on the interfaces as in original FDD concept.

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In recent years significant progress has been made on the analytical side of active control for
civil engineering structures. Also a few models explains as shown that there is great promise in
the technology and that one may expect to see in the foreseeable future several
dynamic Dynamic Intelligent Buildings the term itself seems to have been joined by the
Kajima Corporation in Japan. In one of their pamphlet the concept of Active control had been
explained in every simple manner and it is worth quoting here.
People standing in swaying train or bus try to maintain balance by unintentionally bracing their
legs or by relaying on the mussels of their spine and stomach. By providing a similar function to
a building it can dampen immensely the vibrations when confronted with an earthquake. This is
the concept of Dynamic Intelligent Building (DIB).

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The philosophy of the past conventional a seismic structure is to respond passively to an

earthquake. In contrast in the DIB which we propose the building itself functions actively against
earthquakes and attempts to control the vibrations. The sensor distributed inside and outside of
the building transmits information to the computer installed in the building which can make
analyses and judgment, and as if the buildings possess intelligence pertaining to the earthquake
amends its own structural characteristics minutes by minute.

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Active Control System-The basic configuration of an active control system is schematically

shown in figure. The system consists of three basic elements:
1.
2.

Sensors to measure external excitation and/or structural response.

Computer hardware and software to compute control forces on the basis of observed
excitation and/or structural response.
3.
Actuators to provide the necessary control forces.
Thus in active system has to necessarily have an external energy input to drive the actuators. On
the other hand passive systems do not required external energy and their efficiency depends on
tunings of system to expected excitation and structural behavior. As a result, the passive systems
are effective only for the modes of the vibrations for which these are tuned. Thus the advantage
of an active system lies in its much wider range of applicability since the control forces are
worked out on the basis of actual excitation and structural behavior. In the active system when
only external excitation is measured system is said to be in open-looped. However when the
structural response is used as input, the system is in closed loop control. In certain instances the
excitation and response both are used and it is termed as open-closed loop control.
Active-tuned Mass Dampers (TMD) -these are in passive mode have been used in a umber of
structures as mentioned earlier. Hence active TMD is a natural extension. In this system 1% of
the total building mass is directly excited by an actuator with no spring and dash pot. The system
has been termed as Active Mass Driver (AMD). The experiments indicated that the building
vibrations are reduced about 25% by the use of AMD.
Tendon Control-Various analytical studies have been done using tendons for active control. At
low excitations, even with the active control system off, the tendon will act in passive modes by
resisting deformations in the structures though resulting tension in the tendon. At higher
excitations one may switch over to Active mode where an actuator applies the required tension in
tendons.
Other Methods-The liquid sloshing during earthquakes has assumed significance importance in
view of over flow of petroleum products from storage tank in post earthquakes. One of the
important consideration with sloshing is that is associated with a very low damping. The wave
height was controlled through force applied to the side wall by a hydraulic actuator. The active
control successfully reduced wave heights to the level of 6% of those without control, for
harmonic excitations at sloshing frequency. For earthquake type excitation the wave heights
were reduced to 19% level.
Conventional approach to earthquake resistant design of buildings depends upon providing the
building with strength, stiffness and inelastic deformation capacity. But the new techniques like
Energy Dissipation and Active Control Devices are a lot more efficient and better.

CO
NCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
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Presently an intensive examination of the implications of performance limit states to seismic

design of structure. In the current study, most suggested design procedures require the addition
of a displacement, or damage, check to an essentially force-based design procedure. These
approaches have the advantage of retaining familiar design steps, and have been implemented in
some design procedures for many years. An alternative approach based on designing to achieve a
specified strain or drift performance level under a specified seismic intensity has been developed.
This is very simple to apply and should result in uniform levels of seismic risk. Significant
differences in seismic performance can be expected from structures designed to this approach
when compared with conventional force-based/displacement-check approaches. In particular,
design for inclusion of foundation compliance, for non-standard hysteretic characteristics, and
for variation in seismic intensity are treated in a rational manner not feasible with current
procedures. Although not specifically considered in this paper, due to space limitations, the
rational approach to torsional response of ductile structures developed by Paulay (Paulay 1997)
can readily be incorporated in direct displacement-based design.
It is to be noted that the key merits of the design method are simplicity and rationality. The
method has already achieved some acceptance, being advocated by the Structural Engineering
Association of California for the 1999 Blue Book and as an alternative seismic design
procedure for the draft Australia/New Zealand seismic design code.
REFERENCES
(1) F Knoll - 1993 www.nrcresearchpress.com/
(2)Uang, C. (1991). Establishing R (or Rw) and Cd Factors for Building Seismic Provisions. J.
Struct. Eng., 117(1), 1928.
doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(1991)117:1(19)
(3)T Paulay, MJN Priestly - 2009
(4)S Pampanin - Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 2005 - J-STAGE
(5)CA Goulet, CB Haselton - Earthquake , 2007 - Wiley Online Library
(6)H Sezen, AS Whittaker, KJ Elwood, KM Mosalam - Engineering Structures, 2003 Elsevier
(7)Kī hak Lee, DA Foutch - Journal of Structural Engineering, 2002 - ascelibrary.org
((8JM Bracci, SK Kunnath, AM Reinhorn - Journal of Structural , 1997 - ascelibrary.org

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