Effects of vertical strength irregularities on seismic behavior of frame structures

摘要

There is a lack of understanding of the seismic behavior of structures with verticalirregularities. This paper quantifies the effects of vertical strength irregularities on global drift andnormalized story drifts (ductilities). Structures are represented by 2-D, single bay, 10 story genericframe computer models. A set of 15 recorded ground motions are used in the simulations. Both“strong” and “weak” story cases are studied. The effects of changing the amount of strength modificationand the location of the irregularity along the height are investigated. The results show thatroof drifts are stable parameters that do not change significantly with the introduction of verticalstrength irregularities. On the other hand, normalized story drifts can change dramatically dependingon the type, location, and amount of strength irregularity.