Inelastic torsional coupling of building models

This paper presents the results of a detailed parametric study of the inelastic earthquake response of single storey asymmetric building models. The performance of four different models which have been separately used in previous studies are examined. The responses of two systems with the same value of stiffness eccentricities are compared using two different approaches. The uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency ratio may also be calculated by different means, and the effect of the frequency ratio on the behaviour of structural models is examined. The influence of the relative value of stiffness and strength eccentricities on the seismic response of the structural models is investigated. The position of the critical element may shift from one side to the other in the structural model when some system parameters are varied. The effective parameters which cause critical element shifting are discussed in detail.