Seismic demand on light acceleration‐sensitive nonstructural components in European reinforced concrete buildings

TLDR

Current building codes inconsistently address nonstructural component design, and recent low‑intensity earthquakes have caused extensive nonstructural damage, motivating this study. This paper evaluates the seismic demand on light acceleration‑sensitive nonstructural components from frequent earthquakes and proposes a new formulation for future code implementation. The authors performed a parametric study of 1‑ to 10‑story reinforced concrete frames designed per Eurocode 8, subjected them to earthquakes with a 63 % probability of exceedance in 50 years, and carried out dynamic nonlinear analyses to assess Eurocode equations and develop the new formulation. Eurocode equations underestimate acceleration demand for many periods, especially near higher‑mode periods, but perform well for periods beyond the fundamental, while the proposed formulation accurately estimates floor spectral accelerations and envelopes higher‑mode peaks. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Summary In this paper, a parametric study is conducted in order to evaluate the seismic demand on light acceleration‐sensitive nonstructural components caused by frequent earthquakes. The study is motivated by the inconsistent approach of current building codes to the design of nonstructural components; the extensive nonstructural damage recorded after recent low‐intensity earthquakes also encouraged such a study. A set of reinforced concrete frame structures with different number of stories, that is, 1 to 10 stories, are selected and designed according to Eurocode 8. The structures are subjected to a set of frequent earthquakes, that is, 63% probability of exceedance in 50 years. Dynamic nonlinear analyses are performed on the reference structures in order to assess the accuracy of the equations to predict seismic forces acting on nonstructural components and systems in Eurocode. It is concluded that the Eurocode equations underestimate the acceleration demand on nonstructural components for a wide range of periods, especially in the vicinity of the higher mode periods of vibration of the reference structures; for periods sufficiently larger than the fundamental period of the structure, instead, the Eurocode formulation gives a good approximation of the floor spectra. Finally, a novel formulation is proposed for an easy implementation in future building codes based on the actual Eurocode provisions. The proposed formulation gives a good estimation of the floor spectral accelerations and is able to envelope the floor spectral peaks owing to the higher modes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.