The pounding mitigation techniques in adjacent structures due to earthquakes

Abstract

Investigations of past and recent earthquake damage have illustrated that the building structures are vulnerable to severe damage or collapse during moderate to strong ground motion. Among the possible structural damages, seismic induced pounding has been commonly observed in several earthquakes. Adjacent buildings during an earthquake may collide against each other when, owing to their different dynamic characteristics, the building vibrate out of phase and the at-rest separation distance is inadequate to accommodate their relative motion. When impact loads from pounding are too high, the structural system has to be modified to reduce the response. This research work covers the mitigation of pounding between adjacent structures due to earthquakes. The methods may be classified according to their approach to the problem of pounding: Methods to avoid pounding; Methods to increase the stiffness of building; Methods to supplement energy dissipation; Methods to impact absorb material.