ABSTRACT

Earthquakes have historically been responsible for significant structural failures, often resulting in substantial economic losses and endangering human lives. One notable failure mechanism observed during seismic activity is seismic pounding, which occurs when adjacent buildings collide due to insufficient separation gaps. This phenomenon is particularly concerning in densely populated urban areas where space constraints often prevent the provision of adequate clearances between structures. Such impacts can lead to severe damage or even progressive collapse, especially when the adjacent buildings have different dynamic properties.

This study focuses on analysing the potential of Fluid Viscous Dampers (FVDs) to mitigate the effects of seismic pounding between two closely spaced G+10 storey symmetric reinforced concrete buildings. The structural behavior of the buildings was modeled and evaluated using SAP2000, a comprehensive software for seismic analysis and design.

To determine the effectiveness of the dampers, critical structural response parameters such as base shear, lateral displacement, inter-storey drift, and fundamental time period were assessed under seismic loading. These parameters were compared for cases with and without FVDs to understand their influence on seismic performance.

The findings from this research reveal that the incorporation of FVDs significantly improves the dynamic response of adjacent buildings by absorbing seismic energy and reducing structural vibrations. Consequently, the risk of pounding is minimized, which enhances the overall safety and durability of buildings during earthquakes. This study highlights the value of implementing supplemental damping devices in earthquake-prone zones and provides practical insights for engineers and urban planners involved in the seismic design of adjacent structures.

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1. Ahmed Abdelraheem Farghaly, Seismic analysis of adjacent buildings subjected to double pounding considering soil–structure interaction. Journal of advance structural engineering. 2017; 9:51-62p.
2. Basanagouda I. Patil, Bapugouda B. Biradar, and Rashmi Doddamani, Mitigation of seismic pounding observed in adjacent buildings with fluid viscous Sustainability trends and challenges in civil engineering. 2022; 162:711-731p.
3. Farahania, F. Behnamfara, H. Sayyadpourb, M. Ghandila,Seismic impact between adjacent torsionally coupled buildings. Soil dynamics and earthquake engineering. 2018; 117: 81-95p.
4. Eftychia A. Mavronicolaa, Panayiotis C. Polycarpoub, Petros Komo dromos, Effect of ground motion directionality on the seismic response of base isolated buildings pounding against adjacent structures. Engineering structure. 2020; 207:110-202p.
5. Fadzli Mohamed Nazri, Mahmoud Ali Miari, Moustafa Moffed Kassem, Chee-Ghuan Tan, Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi, Probabilistic evaluation of structural pounding between adjacent buildings subjected to repeated seismic excitations, Arabian journal for Science and Engineering. 2018
6. Maria Flenga, Maria J. Favvata, Probabilistic seismic assessment of the pounding risk based on the local demands of a multistorey RC frame structure. Engineering structure. 2021: 245;0141-0296p.
7. Maria Favvata, Minimum required separation gap for adjacent RC frames with potential inter-story seismic pounding. Journal of engineering structure. 2017: 152;643-659p.
8. Meenu T R, Seetha C R, Shifon P U, Varsha Valsakumar, Kiran Babu A R, Analysis of seismic pounding between adjacent RC buildings. Journal of creative research thoughts. 2022: 10;2320-2882p.
9. Pejman Sobhi, Harry Far, Impact of structural pounding on structural behaviour of adjacent buildings considering dynamic soil-structure interaction, 2021: 1-33p.
10. Rajaram Chenna, Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla, Damage assessment due to pounding between adjacent structures with equal and unequal heights, Journal of civil structural health monitoring. 2018: 8;635-648p.
11. Zhai Changhai, Jiang Shan, Li Shuang and Xie Lili, Dimensional analysis of earthquake- induced pounding between adjacent inelastic MDOF buildings, Journal of earthquake engineering and engineering vibration. 2014: 14;295-313p.
12. Indian Standard 1893 (Part 1): 2016 Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structure (General provision and building), Bureau of Indian Standard, New Delhi.

ABSTRACT

Earthquakes have historically been responsible for significant structural failures, often resulting in substantial economic losses and endangering human lives. One notable failure mechanism observed during seismic activity is seismic pounding, which occurs when adjacent buildings collide due to insufficient separation gaps. This phenomenon is particularly concerning in densely populated urban areas where space constraints often prevent the provision of adequate clearances between structures. Such impacts can lead to severe damage or even progressive collapse, especially when the adjacent buildings have different dynamic properties.

This study focuses on analysing the potential of Fluid Viscous Dampers (FVDs) to mitigate the effects of seismic pounding between two closely spaced G+10 storey symmetric reinforced concrete buildings. The structural behavior of the buildings was modeled and evaluated using SAP2000, a comprehensive software for seismic analysis and design.

To determine the effectiveness of the dampers, critical structural response parameters such as base shear, lateral displacement, inter-storey drift, and fundamental time period were assessed under seismic loading. These parameters were compared for cases with and without FVDs to understand their influence on seismic performance.

The findings from this research reveal that the incorporation of FVDs significantly improves the dynamic response of adjacent buildings by absorbing seismic energy and reducing structural vibrations. Consequently, the risk of pounding is minimized, which enhances the overall safety and durability of buildings during earthquakes. This study highlights the value of implementing supplemental damping devices in earthquake-prone zones and provides practical insights for engineers and urban planners involved in the seismic design of adjacent structures.

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Ahmed Abdelraheem Farghaly, Seismic analysis of adjacent buildings subjected to double pounding considering soil–structure interaction. Journal of advance structural engineering. 2017; 9:51-62p.
2. Basanagouda I. Patil, Bapugouda B. Biradar, and Rashmi Doddamani, Mitigation of seismic pounding observed in adjacent buildings with fluid viscous Sustainability trends and challenges in civil engineering. 2022; 162:711-731p.
3. Farahania, F. Behnamfara, H. Sayyadpourb, M. Ghandila,Seismic impact between adjacent torsionally coupled buildings. Soil dynamics and earthquake engineering. 2018; 117: 81-95p.
4. Eftychia A. Mavronicolaa, Panayiotis C. Polycarpoub, Petros Komo dromos, Effect of ground motion directionality on the seismic response of base isolated buildings pounding against adjacent structures. Engineering structure. 2020; 207:110-202p.
5. Fadzli Mohamed Nazri, Mahmoud Ali Miari, Moustafa Moffed Kassem, Chee-Ghuan Tan, Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi, Probabilistic evaluation of structural pounding between adjacent buildings subjected to repeated seismic excitations, Arabian journal for Science and Engineering. 2018
6. Maria Flenga, Maria J. Favvata, Probabilistic seismic assessment of the pounding risk based on the local demands of a multistorey RC frame structure. Engineering structure. 2021: 245;0141-0296p.
7. Maria Favvata, Minimum required separation gap for adjacent RC frames with potential inter-story seismic pounding. Journal of engineering structure. 2017: 152;643-659p.
8. Meenu T R, Seetha C R, Shifon P U, Varsha Valsakumar, Kiran Babu A R, Analysis of seismic pounding between adjacent RC buildings. Journal of creative research thoughts. 2022: 10;2320-2882p.
9. Pejman Sobhi, Harry Far, Impact of structural pounding on structural behaviour of adjacent buildings considering dynamic soil-structure interaction, 2021: 1-33p.
10. Rajaram Chenna, Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla, Damage assessment due to pounding between adjacent structures with equal and unequal heights, Journal of civil structural health monitoring. 2018: 8;635-648p.
11. Zhai Changhai, Jiang Shan, Li Shuang and Xie Lili, Dimensional analysis of earthquake- induced pounding between adjacent inelastic MDOF buildings, Journal of earthquake engineering and engineering vibration. 2014: 14;295-313p.
12. Indian Standard 1893 (Part 1): 2016 Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structure (General provision and building), Bureau of Indian Standard, New Delhi.