CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1. Discussions

The proposed buildings are sixteen-storeyed reinforced concrete building and

four-storeyed reinforced concrete building, the structural analysis of the buildings are
carried out by using ETABS software. The analysis procedure is static approach. It is
based on Moment Resisting Frame. Wind loading and earthquake loading data are
referenced from UBC-97. All floor slabs in the whole structure are considered as
edge-supported reinforced concrete slab. According to UBC-97, story drift,
overturning moment, sliding and torsional irregularity are checked with wind speed
80mph in zone 2.
In making structural analysis, it is necessary to know the cross sectional
dimension of the members. Preliminary estimate of the member sizes must be done as
a first step in the analysis. If necessary, the assumed cross sections are modified and
the analysis is repeated. The preliminary beam depth is assumed at about 1 inch per
foot of span according to the rules of thumb. The width of the beam is assumed from
10 inches or more by considering the effect of lateral loads.
Two gravity loads (dead load and live load) and lateral loads (wind load and
earthquake load) are applied in structural analysis. Considering the effect of lateral
load, moment-resisting frame is chosen. The analysis of R.C structures were
performed with difference wind forces and different seismic zones.
In this study, ACI 318-99 load combinations are considered for all analysis of
the proposed buildings. In checking story drift, overturning moment, sliding and
torsional irregularity, it is found that building responses are well below allowable
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limits. After analyzing the model with different lateral loads, the story shears, story
displacements are compared under wind load and seismic load.

5.2. Conclusion
From the comparative study, the proposed buildings excited to earthquake
forces and wind forces for different seismic zones and wind forces are studied. It is
found that
(a) The wind pressure increased as the height of the building increased. As zone
factor increases the earthquake forces also increased gradually. Wind is more
effective than earthquake for the high rise buildings when minimum design
factors are considered, while earthquake is found to be more effective for low
rise buildings. The wind effect increases rapidly when the height of the
building increases.
(b) Earthquake load effects on buildings are quite variable and increase rapidly as
the height of the building increases. As height increases the rigidity and
stability of structure gets affected.
(c) The sixteen-storeyed building is more affected due to wind forces than the
four-storeyed building. The four-storeyed building is more affected due to
earthquake than wind forces. The four-storeyed building is unaffected by wind
forces.
(d) The displacements and story shears increase as the earthquake zone increases
for both four-storeyed and sixteen-storeyed building. The high rise stories are
equally influenced by the wind and earthquake forces and the wind influence
increases if the height increases further
(e) When the effects of earthquake forces are observed on the buildings,
earthquake forces have higher influences on the four-storeyed building when
compared to the sixteen-storeyed building as per story shears and
displacements.
(f) When the effects of wind forces are observed on the buildings, wind forces
have higher influences on the sixteen-storeyed building when compared to the
four-storeyed building as per story shears and displacements.
(g) For the proposed high-rise building, the maximum beams of 14 numbers are
failure due to wind speed 120 mph in zone 2. The maximum beams of 54
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numbers are failure due to wind speed 120 mph and 8 columns are the same
failure due to different wind speeds in zone 3. 60 beams and 9 columns are the
same failure due to different wind speeds in zone 4.
(h) For the proposed low rise building, 1 beam is the same failure due to wind
speed 100 mph, 120 mph in zone 2. No column is failure due to different wind
speeds in zone 2. 3 beams are the same failure due to different wind speeds in
zone 3. No column is failure due to different wind speeds in zone 3. 7 beams
are the same failure due to different wind speeds in zone 4. No column is
failure due to different wind speeds in zone 4.

5.3. Recommendations
From the analysis results for all lateral loads, the following suggestions are
made for the future study.
(a) The proposed structures should be analyzed by dynamic approach and then
results should compare with static approach.
(b) The irregular structures should be analyzed under various wind speeds and
earthquake forces.