Inelastic acceleration ratios for nonstructural components

Abstract

Non-Structural Components (NSCs) include all the elements that are part of structures but are not typically designed to resist the loads acting on the structures. In recent major earthquakes, the seismic design of NSCs has proved to be a key feature to assure suitable performance of structures. The accelerations experienced on the floors of structures are much higher than those at ground level, and therefore, NSCs located at these levels are highly susceptible to experiencing inelastic responses. However, relatively few studies have investigated the inelastic response of NSCs. Specifically, the inelastic absolute acceleration ratio (IAR) of NSCs is an important inelastic design parameter that has been the subject of little investigation. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the inelastic response of NSCs through its IARs by using seven elastic buildings of three different structural systems and three different sets of far-field seismic ground records. The inelastic response of the NSC is characterized by the yield strength reduction coefficient (R). The results of the study were used to develop an equation for estimating the characteristic period of ground IARs. In general, the characteristic period is equal to the fundamental period of the structure for the floor IARs and floor Inelastic Displacement Ratios (IDRs). In addition, the results helped to identify that the convergence values of the IARs mainly depend on the R factor and the damping ratio of the NSC and show consistency in both the ground IARs and the floor IARs. Furthermore, the trends of the floor IDRs are more unstable and less predictable than those of the IARs. An improved equation for predicting both ground and floor IARs is also proposed.