| Observation of damage after earthquakes has confirmed that torsional vibration of buildings, induced by lateral seismic ground motion, is one of the contributing factors to the damage and subsequent collapse of structures. Many researchers have therefore studied the elastic and inelastic torsional response of building models. Recent studies have shown that the conventional method of design of concrete shear wall structures in which stiffness is considered as being independent of strength needs to be revised. Both analytical and experimental investigations have revealed that stiffness of reinforced concrete elements is significantly influenced by the amount of reinforcing steel, the axial load and the arrangement of reinforcement and hence by the strength of the wall.; The interrelation between the strength and stiffness of concrete shear wall structures and an amended method of design for torsion is presented in this work. Inelastic analyses of building models, carried out in the presented study, show that buildings designed according to the proposed method exhibit peak ductility demands that are equal or less than those for the associated torsionally balanced buildings, indicating that the proposed method is rational and adequate. |
