Effects of eccentricity and order of vibration modes on the inelastic seismic response of 3D steel structures

In torsionally coupled buildings, the total response of the structure is the result of the translational displacement of the story's center of stiffness and the displacement due to the roof's rotation. In structures with high eccentricity, the effect of the floor’s rotation in the total response is considerable. The order of vibration modes is another important parameter that changes the contribution of the different translational and rotational modes in the total response. To explore the effects of eccentricity and the order of vibration modes on the total response, a number of 3-D steel moment-resistant frames with 4, 8, and 12 stories, with different eccentricities and plans, were considered. The structures were subjected to bidirectional seismic inputs so that their peak ground accelerations were scaled to 0.4g, 0.6g, and 0.8g. Increasing the eccentricity of the structure increases the participation of rotation in the total response. Furthermore, in torsionally flexible structures, where the first or second mode of vibration is a torsional mode, the contribution of the floor’s rotation can be even greater. In some cases, the displacement of exterior columns is primarily the result of the floor's rotation. This suggests that to efficiently dampen the seismic displacement of such structures, the rotational mode of the building should be controlled.