PAPER

Geometric nonlinear effects are caused by gravity loads acting on the deformed
configuration of the structure, leading to an increase of internal forces in members
and connections. These geometric nonlinear effects are typically distinguished
between P-d effects, associated with deformations along the members, measured
relative to the member chord, and P-D effects, measured between member ends
and commonly associated with story drifts in buildings. In buildings subjected to
earthquakes, P-D effects are much more of a concern than P-d effects, and
provided that members conform to the slenderness limits for special systems in
high seismic regions (e.g., special concrete or steel moment frames as defined in
ASCE 7), P-d effects do not generally need to be modeled in nonlinear seismic
analysis. On the other hand, P-D effects must be modeled as they can ultimately
lead to loss of lateral resistance, ratcheting (a gradual build up of residual
deformations under cyclic loading), and dynamic instability. Large lateral
deflections (D) magnify the internal force and moment demands, causing a
decrease in the effective lateral stiffness. With the increase of internal forces, a
smaller proportion of the structure’s capacity remains available to sustain lateral
loads, leading to a reduction in the effective lateral strength. Shown in Figure 2-8
is an idealized base shear versus drift curve of a cantilever structure with and
without P-D effects. If the gravity load is large the stiffness reduction (shown by
the negative slope KN) is significant and contributes to loss of lateral resistance
and instability. Therefore the gravity load- deformation (P-D) effect must be
considered directly in the analysis, whether static or dynamic. This means that the
gravity loads of the entire building must be present in the analysis, and
appropriate P-D analysis techniques should be introduced in the structural model
(Wilson 2002; Powell 2010). For nonlinear seismic analyses, ASCE 7 specifies a
gravity load combination of 1.0D + 0.5L, where D is the building dead load and L
is the specified live load, including allowance for live load reduction.
ATC 72

P-Delta effects are caused by loads acting on the deformed configuration of the
structure. Structure P-Delta is concerned with the global effects of gravity loads
acting on the displaced location of the joints, while member P-delta is concerned
with the local effects of loads acting on the deflected shape of a member between
the joints. Local member P-delta effects are rarely important in seismic response
analysis, so this section is focused on global structure P-Delta effects.

From a static perspective, structure P-Delta can be visualized as an additional

lateral load that increases member forces and lateral deflections, reduces lateral
load resistance in the structure, and causes a negative slope in the lateral load-
displacement relationship at large displacements. From a dynamic perspective,
structure P-Delta can lead to significant amplification in displacement response if
the displacement demands in an earthquake are large enough to enter the range
of negative tangent stiffness. This is illustrated in Figure 2-19, which shows the
dynamic response of a single degree- of-freedom system with bilinear hysteretic
behavior, including P-Delta effects that lead to a negative post-yield tangent
stiffness of 5% of the elastic stiffness. The presence of the negative post-yield
stiffness leads to ratcheting of the displacement response in one direction, which
causes the system to collapse.

P-Delta effects are usually under control if the effective stiffness at maximum
displacement is positive. If the effective stiffness becomes negative, the
amplification of drift can become significant enough to cause lateral dynamic
instability, and the potential for collapse exists. The presence of post-capping
strength deterioration greatly accelerates this effect, but a negative effective
stiffness can be attained even if no post-capping strength deterioration occurs.

The elastic story stability coefficient " = P7/(Vh), which is employed in ASCE/SEI 7-
10, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE, 2010) to
estimate the importance of P-Delta effects, is not a reliable indicator of the
importance of P-Delta in the range of large inelastic deformations. Inelastic
behavior will lead to a redistribution of forces and story drifts, and both may be
affected greatly by P-Delta effects.

This is illustrated in Figure 2-20, which shows pushover deflection profiles for
elastic and inelastic behavior of an 18-story frame, with and without incorporation
of P-Delta effects in the analytical model. In the elastic range, the deflection
profiles with and without P-Delta effects are essentially equal, but in the inelastic
range they deviate significantly. At a roof displacement equal to 1.75 times the
yield displacement, the drift in the lower stories considering P-Delta effects is
about four times as large as the drift predicted without consideration of P-Delta
effects.