Effect of Earthquake-Induced Structural Pounding on the Floor Accelerations and Floor Response Spectra of Adjacent Building Structures

The influence of earthquake-induced structural pounding among buildings is paramount in the seismic analysis and design of structures. The recognition of such a phenomenon has been growing in the last decades. The search for ways to understand and mitigate the consequences of these structural collisions in building structures is the primary goal of the investigation of earthquake-induced building pounding. This phenomenon is known for increasing the floor accelerations, mainly where pounding occurs, implying significant local damage. These collisions cause short-duration acceleration pulses that may compromise the building structure and the non-structural elements within the building’s stories. Non-structural elements supported by the structure’s floors under earthquake-induced pounding instances may present a risk to human lives and/or human activity. Hence, the influence of earthquake-induced pounding in the floor response spectra of two adjacent reinforced concrete structures with inelastic behavior is assessed by varying the number of stories and their separation distance. Pounding greatly influenced the floor acceleration spectra, increasing the spread of accelerations over a broader period range, particularly exciting low to moderate periods of vibration.