Practical Calculation of The Torsional Stiffness Radius of Multistorey Tall Buildings

PRACTICAL CALCULATION OF THE TORSIONAL STIFFNESS
RADIUS OF MULTISTOREY TALL BUILDINGS

T. MAKARIOS*
Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Thessaloniki, Greece
SUMMARY
The present paper refers to the denition of the torsional stiffness radii of multistorey tall buildings using both
the continuous and the discrete model of the structure. The magnitude of the torsional stiffness radius of a
building is the most important structural characteristic in order to explain the torsional behaviour of a building
during an earthquake as it directly affects the buildings torsional exibility. The importance of the torsional
exibility of buildings is recognized by contemporary Seismic Codes that propose a grid of torsional provisions
in order to avoid soft-storey operation due to oor torsional vibrations around a vertical axis. However, contrary
to single-storey buildings, the torsional stiffness radius of multistorey buildings is not dened directly because
both the translational and torsional stiffness of these buildings are expressed in matrix form. In the present paper,
this weakness has been overcome using the continuous model of the structure, from which the torsional stiff-
ness radius of a general monosymmetric multistorey tall system arises via a closed mathematical equation. The
discrete model of the structure has numerically veried this closed mathematical equation. Copyright 2007
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: torsional stiffness radii; multistorey buildings; ctitious elastic axis of multistorey buildings
1. INTRODUCTION
Very often damage has been systematically reported on the perimeter of buildings due to strong
earthquakes and this fact is due to intense oor torsional vibrations around the vertical axis of build-
ings. Indeed, oor torsional vibrations cause additional displacements on the perimeter of buildings
and these, in turn, increase displacements caused by the respective pure translational vibrations.
Compared to the respective demands of ductility due to the pure translational vibration of buildings,
the untimely yield of the perimetric structural elements and their additional demands of ductility are
caused by the additional displacements on the perimeter of the building from above. The explanation
of the torsional behaviour of a building can be achieved using the torsional stiffness radius, which is
the most important characteristic of the building. Indeed, the torsional stiffness radius is more impor-
tant than the static eccentricity of the building because, for translational base excitation, when the
torsional stiffness radius is large the translational (not torsional) vibration of the oors of buildings
dominates irrespective of the magnitude of the static eccentricity of the building. Conversely, when
the torsional stiffness radius of a building is small, then the oor torsional vibration dominates (for
translational base excitation).
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
* Correspondence to: T. Makarios, Institute of Engineering Seismology & Earthquake Engineering (ITSAK), PO Box 53,
GR-55102 Finikas, Thessaloniki, Greece. E-mail: makarios@itsak.gr
THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF TALL AND SPECIAL BUILDINGS
Struct. Design Tall Spec. Build. 17, 3965 (2008)
Published online 24 September 2007 in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/tal.316
40 T. MAKARIOS
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Struct. Design Tall Spec. Build. 17, 3965 (2008)
DOI: 10.1002/tal
In the past, many researchers used the torsional stiffness radius in order to explain the dynamic
behaviour of a monosymmetric single-storey system (Dempsey and Irvine, 1979; Tso and Dempsey,
1980; Dempsey and Tso, 1982; Rutenberg and Pekau, 1987; Chandler and Hutchinson, 1988; Tso
and Wong, 1995; Tso and Moghadam, 1998; Anastassiadis et al., 1998). Eurocode N8 (Appendix B,
draft/1998 or 1993) proposed the use of additional eccentricities. However, these were insufcient
in torsional exible buildings. Indeed, Tso and Wong (1995) and Tso and Moghadam (1998) proved
that the additional damage, which appears on the perimeter stiffness elements of torsional exible
buildings, is not reduced by the grid of provisions of Eurocode N8 (draft 1993), because the latter are
insufcient for buildings with small torsional stiffness radius. On the other hand, the above provisions
are sufcient for buildings with a large torsional stiffness radius. In addition, Tso and Moghadam
(1998) underline that there are two issues which must be investigated in order to examine the torsional
behaviour of a building: rstly, the denition of the torsional stiffness radius to multistorey buildings;
and secondly, the denition of the minimum required magnitude of the torsional stiffness radius of a
building in order to avoid the torsional exibility of a building. Anastassiadis et al. (1998) proposed
the exact relationships of the equivalent static eccentricities as functions of the torsional stiffness
radius of a building. In the aforementioned paper, it is clear that the torsional stiffness radius arises
from the study of the dynamic behaviour of a general monosymmetric single-storey model, while the
equivalent static eccentricities arise from analysis of the model that is loaded with an earthquake
design acceleration spectrum perpendicular to the symmetry axis of a system. Therefore, the following
general conclusions may be made: (a) when the torsional stiffness radius of a building is greater than
the radius of gyration of the diaphragm (around the vertical mass axis), then important differences in
the response of the building do not appear between the dynamic torsional behaviour and the respective
static torsional one. Buildings with this characteristic are called torsional stiff buildings or buildings
without torsional exibility; (b) when the torsional stiffness radius of a building is smaller than the
radius of gyration of the diaphragm (around the vertical mass axis), then important differences in the
response of the building appear between the dynamic torsional behaviour and the respective static
torsional one. Buildings with this characteristic are called torsional exible buildings or buildings
with torsional exibility. In this case, the exact calculation of the additional eccentricities, which
are more commonly known as equivalent static eccentricities, is required. Therefore, the above
general conclusions can be summarized in the next criterion: In single-storey buildings, when the two
rst mode shapes possess translational character, then the building is torsionally stiff . The previous
criterion means that the minimum value of the torsional stiffness radius of a building is dened by
Equation (A.22a,b) in the Appendix of the present paper. Conversely, according to Tso and Moghadam
(1998), the minimum value of the torsional stiffness radius of a building is given by the indicative
relationship Equation (A.31) in the Appendix. In multistorey buildings, the direct denition of the
torsional stiffness radius is impossible because the translational and torsional stiffness of a building are
expressed in matrix form. In order to overcome this problem, three different procedures for indirectly
calculating the torsional stiffness radius were proposed in the past using the results of special static
analyses: (a) Makarios and Anastassiadis (1998a, 1998b) proposed a procedure which uses the results
from three temporary static analyses of an examined multistorey building (see Appendix); (b) Tso and
Moghadam (1998) proposed a different, but equivalent, procedure that uses the results of four tem-
porary static analyses of a multistorey building (see Appendix). The above two procedures conclude
with the same value for the torsional stiffness radius of single/multistorey buildings; (c) Calderoni
et al. (2002) proposed a third procedure which uses the results of four temporary static analyses of a
multistorey building (two static loadings consisting of lateral static forces for each horizontal principal
direction of the building). However, the torsional stiffness radius that arises using the third procedure
does not coincide with the respective value of the two rst procedures (see numerical example in the
Appendix). Moreover, the Seismic Codes do not agree on the same procedure for the calculation of the
CALCULATION OF THE TORSIONAL STIFFNESS RADIUS OF MULTISTOREY BUILDINGS 41
DOI: 10.1002/tal
minimum torsional capacity of buildings in order to avoid the appearance of a soft-storey due to the
oor torsional vibration around a vertical axis. In the numerical example of the Appendix of the present
paper, it is clear that the Seismic Codes cannot correctly detect whether a building is torsionally exible
or torsionally stiff. Subsequently, in order to investigate the torsional stiffness radius of multistorey
tall buildings there are two issues to consider: rstly, the complete mathematical documentation of the
denition of the torsional stiffness radius of multistorey tall buildings; and secondly, the calculation
of the magnitude of the torsional stiffness radius of multistorey tall buildings (as well as the uctua-
tion of its value in elevation). Note that in the nonlinear and inelastic area, concepts such as torsional
stiffness radius, elastic centre or centre of stiffness, centre of rigidity, centre of shear, centre of twist,
centre of resistance and the horizontal principal axes of a building are without meaning.
In the present article, the continuous model of the structure is used in order to identify the torsional
stiffness radius of multistorey tall buildings using a closed mathematical equation. This equation
mathematically substantiates the proposal by Makarios and Anastassiadis (1998a, 1998b) concerning
the denition of the torsional stiffness radius applied to multistorey buildings. Extended parametric
analysis of multistorey exural-shear buildings is performed in order to verify the distribution in eleva-
tion of the torsional stiffness radius. Finally, a suitable numerical example of a ten-storey building is
presented in order to illustrate the calculation of torsional stiffness radii of multistorey buildings.
2. TORSIONAL STIFFNESS RADIUS OF MULTISTOREY TALL BUILDINGS
2.1 General
As underlined in Section A.3 of the Appendix, in order to dene the torsional stiffness radius of a
building there is a prerequisite that the real (or ctitious) elastic centre and the two horizontal real
(or ctitious) principal I, II-axes of a multistorey building that must have been calculated. However,
only special categories of multistorey buildings possess real elastic centres from which the vertical
real elastic axis is passed (Riddell and Vasquez, 1984; Anastassiadis, 1985; Hejal and Chopra,
1987). In other multistorey buildings which possess the required regularity in elevation by the Seismic
Codes, the vertical optimum torsion axis plays the role of the vertical real elastic axis (Makarios and
Anastassiadis 1998a, 1998b; Bosco et al., 2002; Marino and Rossi, 2002; Marino, 2001; Makarios
et al., 2004; Makarios and Xenidis, 2004; Marino and Rossi, 2004; Bosco et al., 2004, Makarios,
2005; Makarios et al., 2006). Therefore, in the present paper the vertical optimum torsion axis
P
o
III of a multistorey building is used as the vertical real elastic axis of the system. Also, the two
horizontal ctitious principal axes P
o
I and P
o
II are used as the horizontal real principal axes of the
system (Makarios et al., 2006). Finally, the continuous model of the structure is used, while its
results are veried by an extended parametric analysis using the discrete model of the structure.
2.2 The continuous model of the structure
General
The continuous model of the structure has been used for the static analysis of multistorey tall
systems since 1960 (Albiges and Goulet, 1960; Rosman, 1962; Beck, 1962; Gluck, 1970; Gluck
and Gellert, 1972; Stamato and Mancini, 1973; Heidebrecht and Stafford Smith, 1973; Rutenberg
and Heidebrecht, 1975; Coull and Mohammed, 1983; Swaddiwudhipong and Lee, 1985; Biswas and
Tso, 1974; Stafford Smith and Abergel, 1983). Complete investigation of the static behaviour of
exural-shear spatial asymmetric multistorey tall systems was performed by Anastassiadis (1987,
1991). Recently, the continuous model has been used for documentation of the vertical optimum
torsion axis (ctitious elastic axis) of exural-shear multistorey tall buildings (Makarios, 2005).
42 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
The basic assumptions are the same as those in the Vlassov theory for the calculation of beams of
open thin-walled cross-section. Furthermore, for formulation of the continuous model of the structure
we assume that the geometric, elastic and mechanical characteristics of the multistorey tall system
are constant in elevation. The mathematical model of the system consists of a vertical cantilever
that has a constant (in elevation) cross-section with exural and shear stiffness. The cross-section is
assumed to be a diaphragm (existence of oors) and has three degrees of freedom, namely two lateral
displacements u
x
(z), u
y
(z) along x, y-axes, respectively, and one rotation q
z
(z) around a vertical axis.
According to the continuous model, the exural-shear spatial multistorey tall system is separated into
two spatial multistorey tall subsystems: the exural and the shear, respectively. These two subsystems
collaborate with each other (Anastassiadis, 1987, 1991; Makarios, 2005). For the requirements of the
present paper, we consider the monosymmetric exural-shear multistorey tall building (Figure 1).
This comes from the coupling of the spatial exural multistorey tall subsystem with the spatial shear
multistorey tall subsystem. K and S are the real elastic centres of the two subsystems, respectively,
while I
k
, II
k
are the two horizontal principal axes of the exural subsystem and I
s
, II
s
are the two hori-
zontal principal axes of the shear subsystem. It has been proven that when the centres K and S of the
two subsystems coincide on the same point, then this point is the elastic centre of the whole structure
(Anastassiadis, 1987). In all other cases, the vertical optimum torsion III-axis that passes through
the ctitious elastic centre P
o
of a plan is always located in the space KS
(Makarios, 2005). Also, in

the case of the monosymmetric multistorey tall system (Figure 1), the x-axis of symmetry is the real
principal I-axis of the whole system and coincides with the I
k
, I
s
-axes of the two subsystems. The
second horizontal principal II-axis (ctitious) passes through the point P
o
and is always perpendicular
to the I-axis. When the external lateral static loading F(z) belongs to the vertical plane z, II, then the
optimum translation of the system along the II-axis (with negligible rotations around a vertical axis)
appears (Makarios and Xenidis, 2004; Makarios et al., 2006). Indeed, in the aforementioned paper
it has been numerically proved that the degree of freedom u
II
of all oors is uncoupling practically
from the two other degrees of freedom (namely, the rotation q
z
and the other horizontal displacement
u
I
) of the examined level. Therefore, according to the continuous model theory, the equation of the
static equilibrium of the multistorey tall system along the II-axis is given by the following differential
fourth-order equation (Anastassiadis, 1987; Makarios, 2005):
K u S u F z
II II II II
( ) (1)
Figure 1. Plan of the monosymmetric exuralshear multistorey tall system
DOI: 10.1002/tal
where K
II
is the sum of the exural stiffness EI
i
of the sections of the vertical stiffness elements of
level i ( K EI
II i
) along the II-axis; and S

II
is the sum of the shear stiffness GA
s,i
of the sections of
the vertical stiffness elements of level i ( S GA
II S i
,
) along the II-axis.
From this, the torsional stiffness radius of the monosymmetric exural multistorey tall system
and, separately, the torsional stiffness radius of the monosymmetric shear multistorey tall system are
dened. As a result, the torsional stiffness radius of the complex coupled monosymmetric exural-
shear multistorey tall system is also dened.
Monosymmetric exural multistorey tall buildings
Monosymmetric exural multistorey tall buildings belong to the special category that possesses verti-
cal real elastic III-axis as well as two horizontal real principal I, II-axes (Figure 2). In order to dene
the torsional stiffness radius, the following two special loadings must be applied on the monosym-
metric exural multistorey tall building:
First loading: The horizontal displacement u
II
(x) of the vertical real elastic III-axis of the level x z/H
in the elevation of the building (where H is the total height of the tall building and z is the distance
of level i from the ground) due to the vertical loading plane of the lateral static forces F(z) located on
the vertical elastic III-axis, along the II-direction (Figure 2), is calculated from Equation (2) according
to the continuous model of the structure (Anastassiadis, 1991):
u
M
K
H c
II
o
II
( ) ( )
2
1
(2)
where M F z z
o
H
( )
d
0
is the external exural moment (around I-axis) at the base of the tall system due
to static loading F(z); c
1
(x) is a coefcient for the level x z/H inuenced by the F(z) distribution;
and K
II
is the translational, along II-axis, exural stiffness of the section of the exural multistorey
tall system.
Second loading: Consider the external loading of the static moments m(z) (around the z-axis) that has
the same distribution of forces F(z) in elevation (Figure 2). When the tall building is loaded with the
Figure 2. Plan of the exural monosymmetric multistorey tall system
44 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
loading m(z), then the rotation q
III
(x) around the vertical axis of the level x z/H of the building is cal-
culated from Equation (3), according to the continuous model of the structure (Anastassiadis, 1991):

III
o
III
B
K
H c ( ) ( )
2
1 (3)
where B M z z m z z
o t
o
H
o
H
o
H
( ) ( )

d d
2
is the external bi-moment at the base of the tall system due
to the torsional loading m(z) and K
III
is the torsional exural stiffness of the section of the exural
multistorey tall system.
The coefcient c
1
(x) is the same for both of the above loading cases because the distribution of lateral
forces F(z) is the same as the distribution of the torsional loading m(z). Therefore, the torsional stiff-
ness radius is calculated from the following displacement ratio for each level x z/H:

u M
B
K
K
u B
M
II
III
o
o
III
II
I
II
III
o
o

( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
(4)
where
I III II
K K
because K
II
is the translational stiffness along the II-axis of the section and
K
III
is the torsional stiffness around a vertical elastic axis of the section of a exural multistorey tall
system.
Monosymmetric shear multistorey tall buildings
Monosymmetric shear multistorey tall buildings belong to the special category of buildings that
possess real vertical elastic III-axis as well as two horizontal real principal I, II-axes (Figure 3). In
order to dene the torsional stiffness radius the following two special loadings must be applied on the
monosymmetric shear multistorey tall building:
First loading: The horizontal displacement u
II
(x) of the vertical real elastic III-axis of the level x z/H
in the elevation of the building (where H is the total height of the tall building and z is the distance
of the level i from the ground) due to the vertical loading plane of the lateral static forces F(z) that
is located on the vertical elastic III-axis along the II-direction (Figure 3) is calculated from Equation
(5), according to the continuous model of the structure (Anastassiadis, 1989):
u
M
S
II
o
II
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] 0 (5)
Figure 3. Plan of the shear monosymmetric multistorey tall system
DOI: 10.1002/tal
where
M F z z
o
H
( )
d
0
is the external exural moment (around the I-axis) at the base of the tall system
due to static loading F(z); m(0), m(x) are coefcients at base (0) and at the level x z/H respectively
in Appendix B of a previous paper by Anastassiadis 1991 (or Makarios, 2005), inuenced by the
distribution of F(z); and S
II
is the translational, along the II-axis, shear stiffness of the section of the
shear multistorey tall system.
Second loading: Consider the external loading of the static moments m(z) (around the z-axis)
that has the same distribution with the loading forces F(z) in elevation (Figure 3). When the tall
building is loaded with the loading m(z) then the rotation q
III
(x) around a vertical axis of the level
x z/H of the building is calculated from Equation (6) according to the continuous model of the
structure (Anastassiadis, 1989):

III
o
III
B
S
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] 0 (6)
where
B M z z m z z
o t
o
H
o
H
o
H
( ) ( )

d d
2
is the external bi-moment at the base of the tall system due to
the torsional loading m(z).
The coefcients m(0)and m(x) are the same in both of the above loading cases because the distribution
of the lateral forces F(z) is the same as the distribution of the torsional loading m(z). Therefore, the
torsional stiffness radius is calculated from the following displacement ratio for each level x z/H:

u M
B
S
S
u B
M
II
III
o
o
III
II
I
II
III
o
o

( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
(7)
where
I III II
S S because S
II
is the translational stiffness along the II-axis of the section and
S
III
is the torsional stiffness around a vertical elastic axis of the section of the shear multistorey tall
system.
Monosymmetric exuralshear multistorey tall buildings
Monosymmetric exuralshear multistorey tall buildings (Figure 4) do not possess a vertical real
elastic axis and, for this reason, in the present paper the vertical optimum torsion axis (ctitious elastic
Figure 4. Flexuralshear monosymmetric multistorey tall building
46 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
axis) P
o
III is used (Makarios and Anastassiadis, 1998a, 1998b; Makarios, 2005; Makarios et al., 2005).
The horizontal displacement u
II
(x) of the optimum torsion axis P
o
III, at level x z/H of a building
(where H is the total height of a multistorey tall building and z is the distance from the ground level
to level x) due to the vertical loading plane of lateral static forces F(z) that is applied at the optimum
torsion axis P
o
III along the II-direction is calculated from Equation (8) according to the continuous
model of the structure (Anastassiadis, 1989):
u
M
S
II
o
II
II II
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] 0 (8)
where
M F z z
o
H
( )
d
0
is the external exural moment (around I-axis) at the base of the tall system
due to loading F(z); and m
II
(0) and m
II
(x) are coefcients (Appendix B of Anastassiadis, 1991) of base
(0) and of level x z/H, respectively, suspended from the external static F(z) load distribution as well
as from the parameter l H of the multistorey system along the examined II-direction (Makarios,
2005).
In particular, the parameter l H is calculated from Equation (1) as follows:
K u S u F z u
S
K
u
F z
K
II II II II II
II
II
II
II
( )
( )
(9)
where the positive term S
II
/ K
II
l
2
has dimensions [L
2
]. Parameter l H does not possess dimension
(because H is the total height of the building) and it characterizes the manner of building deforma-
tion in elevation (for l H 1 there is nearly pure exural deformation of the building prole, for
1 < l H 5 there is exuralshear deformation of the building prole, while the exural subsystem
dominates, for 5 < l H 15 there is exuralshear deformation of the building prole, while the
shear subsystem dominates, and for 15 < l H there is nearly pure shear deformation). In addition,
consider the external static loading of the moment m(z) around the z-axis (or around the III-axis) that
has the same distribution in elevation as the F(z)-loading one. The rotation q
z
(x) around a vertical
axis of level x z/H, of the building due to the torsional loading m(z) is derived from Equation (10)
according to the continuous model of the structure (Anastassiadis, 1991):

z
o
zz
z z
B
S
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] 0 (10)
where
B M z z m z z
o t
o
H
o
H
o
H
( ) ( )

d d
2
is the external bi-moment at the base of the tall system due to
the torsional loading m(z); m
z
(0) and m
z
(x) are coefcients (Appendix B in Anastassiadis, 1991, or
Appendix B in Makarios, 2005) of base (0) and of level x z/H, respectively, suspended from the
external static F(z)-loading distribution as well as from the parameter l
z
H of the building, where
z zz zz
S k with S
zz
S
III
+ e
2
S
S
II
and K
zz
K
III
+ e
2
k
K
II
are the torsional stiffness coefcients of
the shear and the exural subsystem, respectively, with reference to the ctitious elastic centre P
o
.
Therefore, in absolute correspondence with both of the previous cases of the pure exural and the
pure shear multistorey tall buildings, the torsional stiffness radius is now calculated for each level
x z/H by the displacement ratio of Equation (11):

u M S
B S
u
II
z
o II II II
o z z zz
II

( )
( )

( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( ) [ ]

( 0
0
))
( )
( )

z
o
o
I
M
B
2
(11)
DOI: 10.1002/tal
or

I
II
z
o
o
u B
M
( )
( )
( )

(12)
where

I s s
II II
z z
e ( ) + ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 2
0
0
(13)
and
s III II
S S is the torsional stiffness radius of the shear subsystem with reference to its elastic
centre S and e
s
is the horizontal distance in the plan from the elastic centre S of the shear subsystem to
the trace P
o
in the plan of the optimum torsion axis of the multistorey tall system (Figure 4). Equation
(13) indicates that the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x) of the exuralshear multistorey tall buildings
is not constant in elevation, but is a function of height z. Therefore, when Equation (14) is true for
each level x z/H, then the building is torsionally stiff as it occurs in the case of the single-storey
building (see Equation (A.22a, b)):

I m I I
e r ( ) + > , ( )
2 2
(14)
where e
I
is the static eccentricity of level x, namely the distance from the ctitious elastic centre P
o

to the mass centre M.
Limits of the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x)
Equation (13), from which the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x) of multistorey tall buildings is calculated,
has been parametrically investigated in the present paper using the continuous model of the structure.
From this extended parametric analysis, the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x) is always located between
two limits, which are dened by Equation (15):
min , max ,
, , , ,

k P s P I k P s P
o o o o
( ) (15)
where
k o k k
p e , +
2 2
is the torsional stiffness radius of the monosymmetric exural multistorey tall
subsystem with reference to the vertical optimum torsion axis P
o
(and
k III II
K K is the torsional
stiffness radius of the exural subsystem around its elastic centre K and e
k
is the horizontal distance
from the ctitious elastic centre P
o
of the multistorey tall building to the elastic centre K of the exu-
ral tall subsystem, Figure 4);
s P s s
o
e
,
+
2 2
is the torsional stiffness radius of the monosymmetric
shear multistorey tall subsystem with reference to the vertical optimum torsion axis P
o
(where e
s
is
the horizontal distance from the ctitious elastic centre P
o
of the multistorey tall building to the elastic
centre S of the shear tall subsystem, Figure 4).
From the above extended parametric analysis using the continuous model of the structure, indicative
diagrams have been presented in Figure 5 and the following conclusion can be made: the distribution
of the torsional stiffness radius of exuralshear multistorey tall buildings, which have constant elastic
and geometrical characteristics in elevation, does not appear to have intermediate extreme values.
Therefore, the checking of Equation (14) at the rst and at the last oor of the building is sufcient.
2.3 The discrete model of the structure
In the previous section (2.2), using the theory of the continuous model of the structure the torsional
stiffness radius r
I
(x) that has arisen alternately is a function of height z and is given by the following
general relationship:
48 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal

I
II
z
o
o
u B
M
( )
( )
( )
(16)
In other words, Equation (16) is a general basic equation from which the torsional stiffness radius
is given for each building. In particular, in the special cases of the pure exural and the pure shear
monosymmetric multistorey buildings, the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x) from Equation (16) is con-
stant in elevation. Also, Equations (A.26) and (A.28) for single-storey buildings are calculated from
the general Equation (16) if the ratio B
o
/M
o
eliminates. This elimination is easily achieved when the
external moment loading m(z) around the z-axis is numerically equal to the external force loading F(z)
in elevation. In this case, the base moment
M F z z
o
H
( )
d
0
is numerically equal to the base bi-moment

B M z z m z z
o t
o
H
o
H
o
H
( ) ( )

d d
2
; therefore, the ratio B
o
/M
o
is eliminated.
In addition, using the discrete model of the structure for a known distribution of lateral static forces
in elevation, the loading vector F of these lateral static oor forces gives the total exural moment
M
o
around the horizontal axis at the base of the optimum torsion axis:
M F z F z F z F z
o N N i i
i
N
+ + +
1 1 2 2
1
. . . . (17)
where z
i
(i 1, 2, 3, . . . , N) is the distance from the ground level to oor i.
Moreover, consider the loading vector M of external torsional static moments around the z-axis
that is numerically equal to the vector F (namely M 1 F), then the bi-moment B
o
at the base of
the optimum torsion axis of the building is given by (Figure 4):
B M z M z M z M z
o N N i i
i
N
+ + +
1 1 2 2
1
. . . . (18)
Figure 5. Indicative diagrams of the distribution of the torsional stiffness radius in elevation
DOI: 10.1002/tal
Therefore, in this case, the ratio B
o
/M
o
1 is true, because
B
M
M z M z M z
F z F z F z
F z
o
o
N N
N N
+ + +
+ + +

( )
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2
1 1
1 . . .
. . .

++ ( ) + + ( )
+ + +

1 1
1
2 2
1 1 2 2
F z F z
F z F z F z
N N
N N
. . .
. . .

Consequently, when the ratio B
o
/M
o
1 is true, then the torsional stiffness radius r
I
(x) of each level
x of the exuralshear monosymmetric multistorey tall system is given by Equation (19):

I
II
z
u
( )
( )
( )
(19)
which is similar to Equations (A.26) and (A.28) for the single-storey building. Hence, Equation
(19) mathematically documents the Makarios and Anastassiadis (1998a, 1998b) proposal concerning
numerical calculation of the torsional stiffness radius of multistorey buildings.
3. PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS USING THE DISCRETE MODEL OF THE STRUCTURE
For the requirements of the present paper, an extended parametric analysis is performed using the
discrete model of the structure, in order to investigate variation of the values of the torsional stiffness
radius of buildings regular in elevation. All the monosymmetric exuralshear multistorey buildings
which have been examined possessed constant geometric and elastic characteristics in elevation and
can be divided into four categories with reference to parameter l H as follows:
(a) multistorey monosymmetric buildings with l H 1 that demonstrate nearly pure exural
deformation in elevation;
(b) multistorey monosymmetric buildings with 1 < l H 5 that demonstrate exuralshear defor-
mation in elevation, while the exural multistorey subsystem dominates;
(c) multistorey monosymmetric buildings with 5 < l H 15 that demonstrate exuralshear
deformation in elevation, while the shear multistorey subsystem dominates;
(d) multistorey monosymmetric buildings with 15 < l H that demonstrate nearly pure shear defor-
mation in elevation.
Note that when a multistorey building has l H < 5, then the second-order phenomena do not appear
on the building.
Each monosymmetric multistorey building has been examined for three cases of positions in the
plan of its structural walls:
(1) all structural walls have been arranged in the centric third of the plan of the buildings in order
for the last to be torsionally exible;
(2) the structural walls have been arranged uniformly in the plan of the buildings;
(3) the structural walls have been located (in pairs) near or on the perimeter of the buildings in order
for the last to be torsionally stiff.
In Figure 6, we can identify several indicative results of the parametric analysis, where the torsional
stiffness radius r(x) is given as a percentage of the radius of gyration r J m of the diaphragm.
From Figure 6 the following conclusions can be made:
(i) The distribution of the torsional stiffness radius of regular multistorey buildings does not dem-
onstrate extreme intermediate values.
(ii) When multistorey buildings possess l H 5, then the arrangement of the structural walls in
the plan barely affects the torsional stiffness radius r(x) of the building. In these buildings, the
50 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
Figure 6. Distribution of the torsional stiffness radius in elevation with reference to parameter l H.
Curve (1): torsionally exible multistorey buildings, regular in elevation. Curve (2): regular multistorey
buildings that possess the minimum torsional stiffness radius. Curve (3): torsionally stiff multistorey buildings,
regular in elevation
DOI: 10.1002/tal
torsional stiffness radius is mainly affected by the arrangement of the planar multistorey shear
frames.
(iii) When multistorey buildings possess l H < 5, then the arrangement of the structural walls in
the plan signicantly affects the torsional stiffness radius r(x) of the building (see curves 1, 2
and 3) of Figure 6.
(iv) When in a building (with l H < 5) the structural walls are located in the plan with a uniform
arrangement, then the building is usually characterized as torsionally exible (curve 2).
(v) When 80% of exural stiffness EI of sections of the structural walls is located in pairs on the
perimeter of a building (which has l H < 5), then this building usually has the minimum
torsional stiffness (curve 3).
(vi) In torsionally exible buildings with l H < 5 (curves 1 and 2), the rst oors of the system
have a smaller torsional stiffness radius r(x) than that of other oors. Therefore, in a torsionally
exible building that is regular in elevation, checking of Equation (14) must be performed for
the rst level only.
(vii) For each type of multistorey tall building which possesses the required regularity in elevation
by the Seismic Codes, checking of Equation (14) must be performed for the rst and last oors
of the building as well as for level where there is strong variation of exural stiffness of the
sections of the structural walls.
(viii) Finally, the scattering of the torsional stiffness radius of torsionally stiff exuralshear multi-
storey tall buildings regular in elevation (curve 3) is not important. Therefore, for simplicity
reasons we can take a mean value of the torsional stiffness radius and this value can be con-
sidered nearly constant for the whole building (i.e., the torsional stiffness radius r(08) of the
level x 080 or the numerical/geometric mean term of the torsional stiffness radius of all the
oors of a building).
4. NUMERICAL EXAMPLE OF A FLEXURALSHEAR TEN-STOREY BUILDING
4.1 General
For the requirements of the present paper, an indicative numerical example of a exuralshear
monosymmetric ten-storey building with a diaphragmatic operation of its oors (Figure 7) is pre-
sented in order to illustrate the way in which torsional stiffness radius can be calculated according
to the above mathematical documentation using the discrete model of the structure. All geometric
and elastic characteristics of the building are constant in elevation. The six structural walls possess
constant section (025 m 500 m), the columns of the four planar multistorey frames possess con-
stant section (050 m 050 m), while the beams of the frames possess moment of inertia I
b

00005313m
4
. The height of each storey is 400 m, so the total building height is H 4000 m and the
elasticity modulus is E
c
29 GPa. The mass of each oor is concentrated at the geometric centre M
of each level diaphragm and is m 450 t (SI), while the mass moment of inertia around the vertical
axis that passes through the point M is J 31875 t m
2
. The radius of gyration of each diaphragm is
r L B + ( ) + ( )
2 2 2 2
12 25 15 12 8 42m, while the parameter l H has been calculated l H
1085 according to Anastassiadis (1991) or Makarios (2005). Namely, in the building the exural
subsystem dominates. Next, consider the Cartesian reference system M(I, II, III) that the origin M is
the centre of the mass of the building. The horizontal axis I is the principal axis of the system because
it is the symmetry axis. Moreover, the horizontal normal II-axis, which passes through the ctitious
elastic centre P
o
, is the horizontal ctitious principal axis of the system. Since the two horizontal real
(or ctitious) principal I and II axes are known, the respective two torsional stiffnesses r
I
, r
II
of the
system can be calculated.
52 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
4.2 Loading vector M of static torsional moments
Consider the loading vector M of the external oor static moments around the III (or z)-axis that is
numerically equal to the loading F of the lateral static oor forces (the base shear is considered as
10 000 kN and M and F are applied as shown in Figure 4), while both vectors possess triangular dis-
tribution in elevation (namely M 1 F). The ratio B
o
/M
o
1 arises. The displacements u
x8
, u
y8
, q
z8

of the origin M at the level z
o
08H due to loading vector M have been calculated as follows:
u
x8
0 m
u
y8
0003435 m
q
z8
0001827 rad
The vertical optimum torsion axis passes through the pole of rotation P
o
(X
P
, Y
P
) of the level
z
o
08H:
X
u
Y
u
P
y
z
P
x
z

+
+
+

8
8
8
8
0 003435
0 001827
188
0
0 001827
, 00
Therefore, the static eccentricity is e
I
188 m or e
I
00755 L (Figure 7).
4.3 Calculation of the torsional stiffness radius r
I
of the multistorey building
The horizontal displacements u
II
,
F
of the building due to loading vector F which is located on the verti-
cal optimum torsion axis along the II-axis as well as the oor rotations q
z
,
M
around a vertical axis due
Figure 7. Plan of ten-storey monosymmetric building
DOI: 10.1002/tal
to loading vector M are shown in Table 1. In addition, the torsional stiffness radii r
I
(x) for each level
x of the building are calculated from Equation (19) because the ratio B
o
/M
o
1 is true. Note that the
same values of the torsional stiffness radii arise following Tso and Moghadams (1998) procedure.
In Table 1, we can see that the least torsional stiffness radius of the building appears at the rst
level. Therefore, the torsional stiffness radius with reference to mass centre M of the building is given
by Equation (A.22a):
min min
,

I M I I
e ( ) + +
2
2 2 2
5 28 188 5 60m
Therefore, according to Equation (14), the building is characterized as torsionally exible
because
min
,
I M
r < 5 60 8 42 m m
This fact is veried by modal analysis because in the rst coupled mode shape the poles O
1
,
i
of
vibration of all oors (i is the oor level) are located in the circle that has as its radius the radius of
gyration of the diaphragm. Note that in the rst coupled mode shape of this ten-storey building the
poles of vibration of all oors are located between the pole of vibration O
1
,
1
of the rst oor and the
pole of vibration O
1
,
10
of the tenth oor (Figure 7).
5. CONCLUSIONS
In the present paper, the issue of the denition and calculation of the torsional stiffness radius of mul-
tistorey tall buildings has been documented and discussed. Using the theory of the continuous model
of the structure, the torsional stiffness radius of monosymmetric multistorey tall buildings has been
given by a closed mathematical equation (see Equation (13)). Similarly, for monosymmetric multi-
storey tall buildings the torsional stiffness radius has been given by Equation (12) or (16), which has
been readily used for both the continuous and the discrete model of the structure. The denition of the
torsional stiffness radius (Equations (A.26) and A.(28)) of single-storey buildings has been calculated
as a special case in Equation (16). The torsional stiffness radius of multistorey tall buildings has had
a variable value in elevation. In particular, for multistorey buildings the following conclusions can
be made:
Table 1. Calculation of torsional stiffness radii r
I
(x) for each level
(x z/H)
Levels (x) u
II,F
q
z,M
r
I
(x) hr
I
(x)
10 014124 000211 818 h 097 r
09 012463 000198 793 h 094 r
08 010757 000183 767 h 091 r
07 009018 000164 742 h 088 r
06 007271 000141 718 h 085 r
05 005559 000117 689 h 082 r
04 003938 00009043 660 h 078 r
03 002476 0000633 625 h 074 r
02 001259 00003693 584 h 069 r
01 000388 00001390 528 h 063 r
54 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
(1) The distribution of the torsional stiffness radius of regular multistorey buildings does not appear
to have extreme intermediate values.
(2) The scattering of torsional stiffness radius of torsionally stiff exuralshear multistorey tall build-
ings is not important. Therefore, for reasons of simplicity in the frame of the equivalent static
method, we can take a mean value of the torsional stiffness radius, constant for the whole building
(i.e., the torsional stiffness radius r(08) of the level x 080 or the numerical/geometric mean
term of the torsional stiffness radius of all oors of the building).
(3) For each multistorey tall building, Equation (14) must be checked for the rst and last oors of
the building as well as for that level where there is strong variation in the exural stiffness of
sections of the structural walls.
(4) Each multistorey building must possess the minimum torsional stiffness radius dened by Equa-
tion (14) in order to avoid torsional exibility of the building.
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APPENDIX A: THE TWO TORSIONAL STIFFNESS RADII OF
A SINGLE-STOREY BUILDING
A.1 The asymmetric single-storey building
Consider the asymmetric single-storey building consisting of a rigid deck (with diaphragmatic opera-
tion around a vertical axis) supported on mass-less planar frames, structural walls and cores and
referring to the global Cartesian system Oxyz (Figure A.1). The origin O(0,0) of the diaphragm has
three degrees of freedom; two horizontal displacements u
x
and u
y
along the respective horizontal x, y-
axes and a rotation q
z
around a vertical z-axis. The vector of displacements u
o
and the lateral stiffness
matrix K
o
of the building with reference to the Oxyz system are given by
56 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
u K
o
x
y
z
o
xx xy xz
yx yy yz
zx zy zz
u
u
k k k
k k k
k k k
1
]
1
1
,
The following conclusions are true for the asymmetric single-storey building (Roussopoulos, 1932;
Anastassiadis 1989):
(i) The static equilibrium in the reference Oxyz system is written (Figure A.1)

k k k
k k k
k k k
u
u
p
p
m
xx xy xz
yx yy yz
zx zy zz
x
y
z
x
y
z
1
]
1
1
1
]
1
1

1
]
1
1
(A.1)
where u
x
, u
y
, q
z
are the horizontal displacements of origin O of the diaphragm with reference to the
base; p
x
, p
y
, m
z
are the external static loadings on the point O of the diaphragm; and
k k k k
xx i i i i
i
xi
i
+ ( )

cos sin
2 2
k k k k
yy i i i i
i
yi
i
+ ( )

sin cos
2 2
k k k k k
xy yx i i i
i
xyi
i
( ) ( )

1
2
2

sin
k k y k x k
xz zx i xi i xyi
i
+ ( )
k k y k x k
yz zy i xyi i yi
i
+ ( )
k k y k x k x y k
zz i i xi i yi i i xyi
i
+ + ( )

2 2
2
Figure A.1. Plan of a general asymmetric single-storey building
DOI: 10.1002/tal
with a
i
being the orientation angle of the structural element i in the reference x-axis of the global
Oxyz system.
(ii) The special reference system K(I, II, III), where the lateral stiffness matrix is diagonal, can always
be dened as follows (Figure A.2):

k
k
k
u
u
p
p
m
I
II
III
I
II
z
I
II
k
0 0
0 0
0 0
1
]
1
1

(A.2)
where u
k
is the vector of degrees of freedom and K
k
is the lateral stiffness matrix of a single-storey
building in the special reference system K(I, II, III).

u K
k
I
II
z
k
I
II
III
u
u
k
k
k
1
]
1
1
,
0 0
0 0
0 0
(A.3)
k k
k k k k
k
I II
xx yy xx yy
xy
,
+
_
,
+
2 2
2
2
(A.4)
k k x k y k x y k x k y k
III zz k yy k xx k k xy k yz k xz
+ + +
2 2
2 2 2 (A.5)
The coordinates (x
k
, y
k
) of the origin K and the oriented angle w
k
of the horizontal principal I, II-axes
of a single-storey building can be calculated from Equations (A.6ac) (Figure A.2):
x
k k k k
k k k
y
k k k k
k k k
k
xx zy xy zx
xx yy xy
k
yy zx yx zy
xx yy xy
2 2
, , taan 2
2
k
xy
xx yy
k
k k
( )

(A.6a, b, c)
(iii) The two horizontal principal I, II-axes dene the two vertical principal bending planes (I, III)
and (II, III). The intersection of the two vertical bending planes is the vertical elastic III-axis of
the single-storey building. The trace of the vertical elastic III-axis in the plan of the building is
the elastic centre K (or centre of stiffness), which has three special properties (Hejal and Chopra,
1987); the elastic centre is (a) the centre of rigidity, (b) the centre of twist and (c) the shear centre
of a single-storey building. Moreover, from Equation (A.2) the following conclusions can be
made:
Figure A.2. The elastic centre K and the horizontal principal I, II-axes of a single-storey building
58 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
When the lateral static force P is observed on the elastic centre K along the principal axes I or
II (namely, forces p
I
or p
II
), then the diaphragm of the building is translated along the principal
I or II-axis, respectively, without rotation.
When the lateral static force P is located on the elastic centre K with an orientation different
from that of the principal I or II-axis, then the diaphragm of the building is translated along the
other orientation from that of the loading P without rotation. The end of the displacement vector
of the elastic centre is located on the periphery of an ellipse, which has Equation (A.7) with
f
I
1/k
I
and f
II
1/k
II
being the lateral exibilities of the single-storey building (Anastassiadis
1989):

u
f
u
f
P
I
I
II
II
2
2
2
2
2
+ (A.7)
The external torsional moment loading m
k
causes rotation around the III-axis that passes through
the elastic centre K of the building.
A.2 The monosymmetric single-storey system
Consider the single-storey system with the symmetry axis x (Figure A.3a). The mass m of the system
is concentrated at the geometric centre M of the diaphragm and the reference global Cartesian system
is Mxyz.
In the reference system Mxyz, the displacement vector u of the degrees of freedom, the lateral
stiffness matrix K of the single-storey building and the mass matrix M of the building are written as
follows:
u K
m
mx
my
z
xx
yy I yy
I yy zz
u
u
k
k e k
e k k
1
]
1
1
, ,
0 0
0
0
MM

1
]
1
1
m
m
J
0 0
0 0
0 0
where e
I
is the static eccentricity of the building (which has a negative sign in Figure A.3a); k
zz
k
III
+
e
2
I
k
II
is the torsional stiffness coefcient of the building (for rotation one radian around the vertical
axis that passes through the mass centre M); m is the total mass of the single-storey building; r is the
radius of gyration of the diaphragm around the vertical axis that passes through the mass centre M
(Figure A.3a); and J m r
2
is the mass moment of inertia of the diaphragm.
Figure A.3. (a) The monosymmetric single-storey system. (b) The qualitative explanation of the torsional
stiffness radius
DOI: 10.1002/tal
Next, the eigenvalue problem of the single-storey building is written as
K M 0 ( )
2
j (A.8)
where w is the unknown frequency, j {j
x
j
y
j
z
}
T
is the unknown mode shape and 0 is the three-
dimensional null vector.
For the calculation of eigenvalues w
2
1
, w
2
2
, w
2
3
from the eigenvalue problem of Equation (A.8), we
nullify the determinant det
K w
2
M
0. Due to the symmetry x-axis, the eigenvalue problem of

Equation (A.8) is divided into two independent equations:
k m
xx x
( )
2
0 (A.9a)

k m e k
e k k J
yy I yy
I yy zz
y
z

1
]
1

2
2
0
0
(A.9b)
k
xx
w
2
m 0 is derived in Equation (A.9a), so the translational frequency along the symmetry x-
axis is given (the symmetry x-axis is simultaneously the principal axis I of the building):

x xx I I
k m k m (A.10)
The mode shape of Equation (A.9a) is uncoupled from the other two; therefore, the vibration of the
single-storey building along the x-axis is purely translational. The other two eigenvalues w
2
2
, w
2
3
are
derived from the solution of the following quadratic equation:

4 2 2 2 2 2
2 2
2
0 + ( ) +

_
,

y z y z
I y
e
r
(A.11)
where

y yy II II
k m k m (A.12a)

z zz III I II III
I II
k J k e k m r
e
r
+ ( ) ( ) +

2 2 2
2 2
2
(A.12b)
from which the two w
2
1
and w
2
2
are given:

1 2
2 2
2 2
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
,

+
_
,
_
,
y
x x I
e
r
(A.13)
where

x
z
y
zz
II
zz II III I II II I I
k J
k m
k k
r
k e k k
r
e
r

+ ( )
+
2 2 2
(A.14)
and
I III II
k k is the torsional stiffness radius of the building with reference to the elastic
centre K.
60 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
As proven in Appendix A of the paper by Anastassiadis et al. (1998), in a torsionally exible build-
ing, namely, in a building where the fundamental mode shape has a torsional character, it is always true
that w
z
/w
y
< 1 and according to Equation (A.14) this means that the torsional exibility of a building
depends on the magnitude of the torsional stiffness radius:

I I
e r
2 2
+ < (A.15)
The term
I I
e
2 2
+ gives the torsional stiffness radius r
I
,
M
of the building with reference to the
centre mass M.
Consequently, in order to qualitatively comprehend the torsional stiffness radius we consider the
monosymmetric single-storey system, which consists of two similar structural walls, located in parallel,
each one of which has a lateral translational stiffness k
w
, while the system possesses a diaphragmatic
operation on the oor level, as shown in Figure (A.3b). These walls are oriented along the principal
II-axis at a distance a from the elastic centre K of the system. When this system is loaded with the
static moment M
III
around the vertical III-axis, then the rotation of the diaphragm is q
III
M
III
/k
III
and
the shear forces of restoration of the system are +Q
r
, Q
r
, which are applied on the structural walls.
The lateral stiffness k
II
of the system is k
II
2 k
w
and the torsional stiffness k
III
of the system with
reference to the elastic centre K is calculated:
k k a k a k a k a a k k a
III w w w II III II I
+
2 2 2 2
2 (A.16)
Therefore, the level-arm a from the elastic centre K to each structural wall is equal to the torsional
stiffness radius of the monosymmetric single-storey system. Hence, the torsional stiffness radius r
I
is
the level-arm with reference to the elastic centre K along the principal I-axis of elastic lateral forces
of restoration due to external pure torsional loading M
III
(Figure A.3b).
Moreover, in the case of a monosymmetric single-storey building, where the two coupled fre-
quencies w
1
& w
2
are known from Equation (A.13), the three mode shapes are given by Equations
(A.17ac):
j
1 1 1 1 1 1
0
x y z
T
y z
T
(A.17a)
j
2 2 2 2 2 2
0
x y z
T
y z
T
(A.17b)
j
3 3 3 3
1 0 0
x y z
T T
(A.17c)
where

y
I
y
z
e
1
1
2 2
1
1
1 00
and (A.18a, b)

y
I
y
z
e
2
2
2 2
2
1
1 00
and (A.19a, b)
Note that the order of the mode shapes is dened by the order of the frequencies of the system.
Also, in the general case of an asymmetric single-storey building, the coordinates e
xi
, e
yi
of the pole
O
i
(e
xi
, e
yi
) of vibration for the mode shape (i) are given directly from the following vector equality:

e
e
yi
xi
xi zi
yi zi
1 1
( )

(A.20)
where the j
xi
is calculated from Equations (A.18a) and (A.19a) with the alternation of indexes.
DOI: 10.1002/tal
A.3 The two torsional stiffness radii of the asymmetric single-storey system
It is well known that the elastic centre K and the two horizontal principal I, II-axes are always dened
in the asymmetric single-storey building. Thus, in order to dene the two torsional stiffness radii r
I

and r
II
on the asymmetric single-storey building along the principal I, II-axes, respectively, it can
be approximately considered that the building consists of two monosymmetric subsystems using the
following relationships:

I III II II III I
k k k k , (A.21a, b)
where k
I
, k
II
and k
III
are calculated from Equations (A.4) and (A.5).
Thus, in order to discern the torsionally exible from the torsionally stiff single-storey building the
two torsional stiffness radii r
I
,
M
and r
II
,
M
must be calculated referring to mass centre M of the building
along its two horizontal principal axes, respectively. Using Equation (A.15) along the two horizontal
principal axes, the following rst denition concerning the torsional exibility of a building is derived
(Appendix A of Anastassiadis et al., 1998): when one of the two Equations (A.22a) or (A.22b) is true,
then the single-storey building has torsional exibility.

I M I I
e r
,
+ <
2 2
(A.22a)

II M II II
e r
,
+ <
2 2
(A.22b)
where e
I
, e
II
are the static eccentricities along the horizontal principal I and II-axes of the asymmetric
single-storey building, respectively.
The above rst denition of torsional exibility of a building can also be written in a different
way (second denition): When the pole O
i
(e
xi
, e
yi
) of vibration of one of the two rst mode shapes of
an asymmetric single-storey building is located in the circle of the radius of gyration r of the oor
diaphragm, then the building is torsionally exible. In other words, when the pole O
i
(e
xi
, e
yi
) of
vibration of the two rst mode shapes of the building is located out of the circle of the radius of
gyration r of the oor diaphragm, then the building is torsionally stiff. Note that the second denition
can be applied unobstructed to multistorey buildings, since the oor poles of vibrations have been
calculated by Equation (A.20). Moreover, both of the above denitions have been adopted by the
Hellenic Seismic Code (sections 3.3.3[7] and 4.1.4.2b.[3]c of EAK/2003 respectively). In addition,
according to section 4.1.4.2b[3]a of EAK/2003, when there are two parallel structural walls in one of
the two principal directions of a building with a lever-arm greater than 1/3 of the respective building
dimension, then the building is torsionally stiff. According to Eurocode No. 8/1998 (sect. 2.3.1(3) of
part 1-3), when r < 080 r is true, then the building is torsionally exible. According to UBC/1997
(Equation (30-16 and s.1630.7 and Table 16-M), when the magnication coefcient A
x
is greater than
one, then the building has torsional exibility. Finally, according to Tso and Moghadam (1998), the
minimum torsional stiffness radius of a building is r
I
> 030L
I
, where L
I
is the dimension of the build-
ing along the normal direction of the loading one.
To sum up, in order to dene the torsional stiffness radius of a building the elastic centre K, the
horizontal principal I, II-axes, the lateral translational stiffness k
I
, k
II
and the torsional stiffness coef-
cient k
III
of a building must be calculated. However, in multistorey buildings the torsional stiffness
radius cannot be calculated using Equation (A.14), because the lateral stiffnesses of a building are
expressed in matrix form. For this issue two investigative proposals were put forward in the same
year: one by Makarios and Anastassiadis (1998a, 1998b) and a second by Tso and Moghadam (1998)
using three and four temporary analyses of the multistorey system, respectively.
62 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
A.4 The Makarios and Anastassiadis (1998a, 1998b) proposal
According to this proposal, a temporary lateral static force F and a temporary static moment M
III

around a vertical axis, which is numerically equal to the force F (namely M
III
1 F), are chosen.
Three static analyses of a building are required in order to calculate the two torsional stiffness radii
of the building.
First analysis
The single-storey system is loaded with the static moment M
III
around a vertical axis (Figure A.4a)
in order to numerically calculate the position of the elastic centre K(x
k
, y
k
) of the building as well as
the torsional stiffness k
III
of the asymmetric single-storey building (Figure A.4b). Indeed, the three
displacements u
x,M
, u
y,M
and q
z,M
of origin O of the reference Cartesian system Oxyz due to loading
M
III
arise from the analyses of the system (Figure A.4a, b). The pole of rotation of the diaphragm due
to loading M
III
is the elastic centre K (x
k
, y
k
), while the x
k
, y
k
coordinates are calculated directly from
the geometrical relationship:
x
u
y
u
k
y M
z M
k
x M
z M

,
,
,
,
,

(A.23)
The rotation angle q
z,M
(or q
III,M
) of the diaphragm of the single-storey system is known and the
torsional stiffness coefcient k
III
of the system is given by

z M
III
III III
III
z M
M
k
F
k
k
F
,
,
(A.24)
Figure A.4. Indirect calculation of the elastic centre and the torsional stiffness radii of the single-storey
building, using three different analyses
DOI: 10.1002/tal
Second analysis
The single-storey system is loaded with the static force F that is applied at the elastic centre along
the principal II-axis (Figure A.4c). In this case, the diaphragm of the system is translated with u
II,F

displacement along the principal II-axis without twist. Thus the translational stiffness coefcient k
II

of the system is given by
u
F
k
k
F
u
II F
II
II
II F
,
,
(A.25)
Therefore, inserting Equations (A.24) and (A.25) into Equation (A.21a), the torsional stiffness radius
r
I
along the principal I-axis of the single-storey system is given (Figure 4) by

I
III
II
z M
II F
II F
z M
k
K
F
F u
u

,
,
,
,
(A.26)
Third analysis
The single-storey system is loaded with the static force F that is applied at the elastic centre along
the principal I-axis (Figure A.4d). In this case, the diaphragm of the system is translated with u
I,F

displacement along the principal I-axis without twist. So, the translational stiffness coefcient k
I
of
the system is given by
u
F
k
k
F
u
I F
I
I
I F
,
,
(A.27)
Therefore, inserting Equationss (A.24) and (A.27) into Equation (A.21b) the torsional stiffness
radius r
II
along the principal II-axis of the single-storey system is given (Figure 4) by

II
III
I
z M
I F
I F
z M
k
K
F
F u
u

,
,
,
,
(A.28)
Hence, according to Equations (A.26) and (A.28) calculation of the stiffness coefcients k
I
k
II
, k
III

of a single-storey building is not required for the calculation of the torsional stiffness radii of a system
and it is very important in more complex systems, where the calculation of the stiffness coefcients
is difcult or impossible, as is the case in asymmetric multistorey buildings.
A.5 The Tso and Moghadam (1998) proposal
According to Tso and Moghadams proposal, for each principal direction of the system two analyses
of the system must be performed using the lateral static force F. In the rst analysis, the force F must
be located at the mass centre M of the system; in the second analysis, the force F must be located
with eccentricity +b L
I
from the mass centre M to the exible side of the building (where L
I
is the
perpendicular dimension of the building with reference to loading direction and b is a coefcient e.g.
b 005). The torsional stiffness radius r
I
of the system along the horizontal principal I-axis is given
by Equation (A.29):

I I
II
II
I I I
L e L
+ ( )
_
,
( )
0 5 1
1
(A.29)
where
II
d
min
/d
max
; d
max
is the maximum displacement of the exible side of the building due to the
rst analysis; d
min
is the maximum displacement of the stiff side of the building due to the rst analysis;
64 T. MAKARIOS
DOI: 10.1002/tal
h
I
K
G/L
I
with K
G being the distance from the elastic centre K to the geometric centre G of the plan
along the horizontal principal I-axis (the coefcient h
I
K
G/L
I
is different from the ratio e
I
/L
I
when
the mass centre M does not coincide with the geometric centre G of the diaphragm).
Equation (A.30) gives the static eccentricity e
I
of the single-storey building:
e
L
I
I III
III III

(A.30)
where q
III
is the rotation angle of the building, around a vertical axis, due to the rst analysis; and q
III

is the rotation angle of the building, around a vertical axis, due to the second analysis.
Equation (A.29) gives the second torsional stiffness radius r
II
of the single-storey building with
alternation of indexes performing the same procedure as in the other two analyses along the normal
horizontal principal direction.
Note that in order to calculate the torsional stiffness radius of a system either the Makarios and
Anastassiadis proposal or that of Tso and Moghadam is applied; the same value of the torsional stiff-
ness radius arises.
Finally, according to Tso and Moghadam (1998), buildings must possess the minimum torsional
stiffness radius that is dened by Equation (A.31):

I I
L > 0 30 . (A.31)
The above indicative Equation (A.31) is different from the mathematical Equation (A.22a) from
which the exact minimum torsional stiffness radius of a building arises in order for the building to
be torsionally stiff.
A.6 Numerical example of a single-storey building
Consider the monosymmetric single-storey building of Figure A.5, which consists of two unequal
structural walls W1 and W2 along the y-direction and a structural wall W3 along the x-direction. The
lateral translational stiffness of the two rst walls is k
w1
120 k and k
w2
100 k respectively, while
that of the third wall W3 is k
w3
100 k. The third structural wall, W3, does not contribute to the tor-
Figure A.5. Monosymmetric single-storey building of three structural walls W1, W2 and W3
DOI: 10.1002/tal
sional stiffness of the building because it is located on the elastic centre K of the system. The structural
walls are connected at their tops with a rigid deck that operates as a diaphragm around a vertical axis
and we consider the Cartesian reference system Mxyz. The building has a torsional stiffness radius
r
I
249 m that is derived from Equations (A.26) and (A.29). However, according to Calderoni et al.s
(2002) proposal the torsional stiffness radius is falsely calculated as 547 m. Moreover, the torsional
stiffness radius r
I,M
with reference to the mass centre M of the system is calculated as r
I,M
250 m by
Equation (A.22a). The contemporary Seismic Codes as well as the proposals of researchers disagree
on whether this building is torsionally exible or torsionally stiff.
Indeed:
According to UBC/1997 (Equation 30-16, s.16307 and Table 16-M), the coefcient of magni-
tude A
x
is less than one. Therefore, the building of Figure A.5 is torsionally stiff since A
x

(u
II,ex
/12 d
avg
)
2
0982 is true.
On the contrary, according to Section 2.3.1(3) (part 1-3) of Eurocode No. 8 (draft)/1998, the build-
ing of Figure A.5 is torsionally exible because r
I
< 080 r is true.
According to (a) the criterion of Section 4.1.4.2b[3] of the Hellenic Seismic Code (EAK/2000), the
building is torsionally stiff (see Section A.3 of the present paper).
On the contrary, according to (b) and (c) the criteria of Section 4.1.4.2b[3] of the Hellenic Seismic
Code (EAK/2000), the building is torsionally exible (see Section A.3 of the present paper).
According to Equation (A.22a) of Anastassiadis et al.s (1998) proposal, the building is torsionally
exible.
According to Equation (A.31) of Tso and Moghadams (1998) proposal, the building has the
minimum required torsional stiffness since r
I
> 030L
I
is true.

Practical Calculation of The Torsional Stiffness Radius of Multistorey Tall Buildings

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Practical Calculation of The Torsional Stiffness Radius of Multistorey Tall Buildings

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PRACTICAL CALCULATION OF THE TORSIONAL STIFFNESS

RADIUS OF MULTISTOREY TALL BUILDINGS

(Makarios, 2005). Also, in

) along the II-axis; and S

0. Due to the symmetry x-axis, the eigenvalue problem of

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