Effect of Modeling Floor Diaphragm Flexural Rigidity on Seismic Design of Steel Buildings with RC Shear

Inaccurate modeling of flexural rigidity of floor diaphragms leads to incorrect estimation of building seismic response and uneconomical or unsafe seismic design of floors and vertical lateral load resisting elements like shear walls. Through a thorough parametric study 144 simply-framed steel building with intermediate RC shear walls are modeled, analyzed, and designed. Varied modeling parameters are: (a) floor diaphragm type (deck or slab), (b) floor thickness, (c) number of building stories, and (d) planar layout of shear walls. Response and design measures for models with deck diaphragms (rigid membrane without flexural rigidity) and slab diaphragms (with membrane and flexural rigidities) are compared and their sensitivities with respect to varied modeling parameters are estimated.

Effect of Modeling Floor Diaphragm Flexural Rigidity on Seismic Design of Steel Buildings with RC Shear Keywords:

Floor Diaphragm Flexural Rigidity , Deck Diaphragm , Slab Diaphragm , Seismic Design , RC Shear Walls