Identification of Modal Combinations for Nonlinear Static Analysis of Building Structures

Abstract:   An essential requisite in performance-based seismic design is the estimation of inelastic deformation demands in structural members. An increasingly popular analytical method to establish these demand values is a "pushover" analysis in which a model of the building structure is subjected to an invariant distribution of lateral forces. Although such an approach takes into consideration the redistribution of forces following yielding of sections, it does not incorporate the effects of varying dynamic characteristics during the inelastic response. Simple modal combination schemes are investigated in this article to indirectly account for higher mode effects. Because the modes that contribute to deformations may be different from the modes that contribute to forces, it is necessary to identify unique modal combinations that provide reliable estimates of both force and deformation demands. The proposed procedure is applied to typical moment frame buildings to assess the effectiveness of the methodology. It is shown that the envelope of demands obtained from a series of nonlinear static analysis using the proposed modal-combination-based lateral load patterns results in better estimation of inter-story drift, a critical parameter in seismic evaluation and design.