The Use of Effective Member Stiffness in Analyses of Tall Reinforced Concrete

Buildings

When analyzing concrete frame structures for only gravity loads, it is generally considered
acceptable to use member stiffness based on gross uncracked section properties, since under
service level gravity loads the extent of cracking will be comparatively minor. The relative
values of stiffness are all that are needed to obtain reasonably accurate distribution of
member forces.
In India, it is common practice to use gross member stiffness properties in elastic analyses of
tall buildings for obtaining member forces and deformations under gravity as well as seismic
and wind actions. However, under seismic and wind actions, it is important that the member
forces be based on more realistic values of stiffness which capture the inelastic response of
the structure at close to member yield forces, which is caused due to member cracking. The
elastic structure should also produce the same displacements as those expected in the actual
inelastic response of the concrete structure. The use of effective member stiffnesses will
ensure that the hierarchy of member yield during seismic actions conforms to assumed
distributions and the member ductilities are reasonably uniformly distributed through the
concrete structure. A reasonably accurate assessment of member stiffnesses will also be
required to obtain reasonably accurate building periods. The accuracy of estimation of
seismic forces and drifts as well as that of wind forces, deformations and accelerations from
wind tunnel studies will be based on accuracy of building period assessment.
Under seismic actions, frame members exhibit moment reversals, with flexural cracking at
the ends and a central uncracked region. Shear walls generally form a hinge at the bottom
three or four stories of a tall building. At any section in such members, the moment of inertia
(I) will be affected by various factors such as the magnitude and sign of the moment, amount
and position of flexural and confining reinforcement, section geometry, axial load, tension
stiffness effects between cracks, the presence or absence of monolithic slabs and diagonal
cracking due to member shear.
It is impractical in a design office to evaluate the properties of several cross sections of each
member of a multistoried structure. An average value of member stiffness (EI), applicable to
the entire length of a member should be adopted. The moment of inertia of the gross section
(Ig) should be modified to take into account the phenomena discussed above to arrive at an
effective moment of inertia (Ie).

Effective Elastic Stiffness of Beams

Seismic Analyses
Wind Analyses

Effective Elastic Stiffness of Columns

Seismic Analyses
Wind Analyses

Effective Elastic Stiffness of Shear Walls

Analyses for Seismic Loads
For elastic analysis models, effective stiffness is specified as a fraction of the gross concrete
cross section inertia to account for factors such as concrete cracking, axial load and
anchorage slip / extension.
In FEMA 356, EcIe = 0.8EcIg and 0.5EcIg are specified for effective flexural stiffness for
uncracked and cracked walls respectively. GcA = 0.4EcAw is specified for shear stiffnessx.
As reported by Thomson and Wallace, effective stiffness values for tests conducted on walls
with 100 mm by 1200 mm cross sections, 3600 mm tall and subjected to a constant axial
stress of P ≈ 0.1Agf’c (or 0.08Agfck) are in the range of EcIe = 0.5EcIgx.
It is recommended to use an effective elastic stiffness of 0.5EcIg for walls with stress levels up
to approximately 0.15Agf’c (or 0.12Agfck). For higher stress levels, use of a higher value up to
0.7EcIg may be justified, but there are insufficient test data to support it. A value of GcA =
0.4EcAw is recommended for shear stiffness.
Analyses for Wind Loads

Effective Elastic Stiffness of Link Beams

and Link Beams

Seismic Analyses
Wind Analyses