Earthquake Response Analysis of Yielding Structures Coupled with Rocking Walls

TL;DR

This study models and analyzes the inelastic response of structures with rocking walls, validating simplified equations against detailed simulations, and finds vertical tendons offer limited benefits for medium to high-rise buildings.

Contribution

The paper derives nonlinear equations for coupled yielding structures and rocking walls, validating their accuracy against detailed time-history analyses of real buildings.

Findings

Vertical tendons have minimal impact on inelastic response.

Coupling with rocking walls controls inelastic deformations effectively.

Vertical reactions at pivot points increase with tendons.

Abstract

This paper investigates the inelastic response of a yielding structure coupled with a rocking wall which can be vertically restrained. The paper first derives the nonlinear equations of motion of a yielding oscillator coupled with a vertically restrained rocking wall and the dependability of the one-degree of freedom idealization is validated against the nonlinear time-history response analysis of a well-known 9-story moment-resisting steel frame that is coupled with a stepping rocking wall. While, the coupling of weak building frames with rocking walls is an efficient strategy that controls inelastic deformations by enforcing a uniform interstory-drift distribution, therefore, avoiding mid-story failures, the paper shows that even for medium-rise buildings the effect of vertical tendons on the inelastic structural response is marginal, with the exception of increasing the vertical reactions at the pivoting points of the rocking wall. Accordingly, the paper, concludes that for medium- to high-rise buildings vertical tendons in rocking walls are not beneficial.