Seismic Design To EC8 - L3

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1.8 Basic seismic design principles for buildings
1.8.1 Fundamental Principles
1 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng, MIE(SL)
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Structural Simplicity

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Uniformity, symmetry and redundancy
Numerous studies of earthquake damage have found that buildings with a uniform and symmetrical
distribution of mass, strength and stiffness in plan and elevation generally perform better than buildings
lacking these characteristics. Uniformity in plan improves dynamic performance by suppressing torsional
response. Irregular or asymmetrical plan shapes such as L or T configurations may be improved by
dividing the building with joints to achieve compact, rectangular shapes, but this introduces a number of
design issues that must be solved; these are avoiding ‘buffering’ (impact) across the joint, and detailing
the finishes, cladding and services that cross the joint to accommodate the associated seismic
movements.
Uniformity of strength and stiffness in elevation helps avoid the formation of weak or soft storeys. Non –
uniformity in elevation does not always lead to poor performance, however; for example, seismically
isolated buildings are highly non – uniform in elevation but are found to perform very well in
earthquakes.
Redundancy implies that more than one load path is available to transmit seismic loads, so that if a
particular load path becomes degraded in strength or stiffness during an earthquake, another is available
to provide backup.

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Bi – directional resistance and stiffness
Unlike the situation that often applies to wind loads on buildings, seismic loads are generally similar
along both principal horizontal axes of a building. Therefore, similar resistance in both directions is
advisable. Systems such as cross – wall construction found in some hotel buildings, where there are
many partition walls along the short direction but fewer in the long direction, work well for wind loading,
which is greatest in the short direction, but tend to be unsatisfactory for seismic loads.
Torsional resistance and stiffness

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Adequacy of diaphragms at each storey level 1/26/2018

Adequate foundations 1/26/2018

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1.8.2 Evaluating regularity in plan and elevation
General

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Regularity in plan
Classification as regular in plan requires the following:
1. ‘Approximately’ symmetrical distribution of mass and stiffness in plan.
2. A ‘compact’ shape, i.e. one in which the perimeter line is always convex, or at least encloses
not more than 5% re-entrant area.
3. The floor diaphragms shall be sufficiently stiff in-plane not to affect the distribution of lateral
loads between vertical elements. EC8 warns that this should be carefully examined in the
branches of branched systems, such as L, C, H, I and X plan shapes.

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4. The ratio of longer side to shorter sides in plan does not exceed 4.
5. The torsional radius rx in the x direction must exceed 3.33 times eox, the eccentricity between
centres of stiffness and mass in the x direction. Similarly, ry must exceed 3.33 times eoy.
6. rx and ry must exceed the radius of gyration ls, otherwise the building is classified as ‘torsionally
flexible’, and the q values in concrete buildings are greatly reduced.

Regularity in elevation 1/26/2018
A building must satisfy all the following requirements to be classified as regular in elevation.

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1.8 Capacity Design
EC8 Part 1 Section 2.2.4 contains some specific design measures for ensuring that structures meet
the performance requirements of the code. These apply to all structures, not just buildings, and a
crucial requirement concerns capacity design, which determines much of the content of the
material – specific rules for concrete, steel and composite buildings in Section 5, 6 and 7 of EC8 part
1.
Clause 2(P) of section 2.2.4.1 states
In order to ensure an overall dissipative and ductile behavior, brittle failure or the premature
formation of unstable mechanisms shall be avoided. To his end, where required in the relevant
parts of EC8 resort shall be made to the capacity design procedure, which is used to obtain the
hierarchy of resistance of the various structural components and failure modes necessary for
ensuring a suitable plastic mechanism and for avoiding brittle failure modes.

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1.8 Other basic issues for building design

1.8.1 Load combinations

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1.8.2 ‘Seismic’ mass
1.8.3 Importance classes and factors

Four importance classes are recognized, which also shows the recommended ϒI factor; this is,
however, a ‘Nationally Determined Parameter’ (NDP), which may be varied in the National Annex.
Note-: whereas in US practice the importance factors are applied to the seismic loads, in EC8 they
are applied to the input motions. This makes an important difference when non-linear analysis
employed, since increasing the ground motions by X% may cause an increase of less than X% in
forces, due to yielding of elements, but (possibly) more than X% in deflections, due to plastic strains
and P- delta effects.
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1.8.4 Primary and secondary members

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1.8.5 Other design measures in EC8 – 1 Section 2.2.4
The need for an adequate structural model for analysis is identified and , where necessary, soil
deformability, the influence of non-structural elements and adjacent structures should be included
in the analysis.
Example
Refer the distributed worked example for siting of structures and assessing structural regularity


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1/26/2018

1.8 Basic seismic design principles for buildings

1.8.1 Fundamental Principles

1 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

2 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

3 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

Bi – directional resistance and stiffness

Torsional resistance and stiffness

4 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

5 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

6 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

7 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

8 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

9 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

10 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

11 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

12 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

13 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

1.8 Other basic issues for building design

14 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

1.8.3 Importance classes and factors

16 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

17 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

18 Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

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