Structural system analysis and design for safe house

Abstract

The observation of post-earthquakes damages on reinforced concrete buildings has clearly shown that the presence of nonstructural elements, such as infill walls, may significantly affect the seismic performance of buildings. The study describes the analysis and design, the engineering process the new type of safe room according to the FEMA guidance. It also evaluates the effects of in-fill frames and the linear response of reinforced concrete braced frames and comparison with frames with shear wall. The main conclusion drawn from this study is to elaborate that the masonry in-fills, are strongly influence the structural seismic response and contribute to the overall stiffness and can decrease drifts and displacements. Infill walls have significant role in the strength and ductility of RC framed structures and should be considered in both analysis and design globally. These walls make the structure significantly stiffer, and reduce the natural period of the structure. Locally, infill walls changed the load path, the distribution of forces between different elements of the structure, and the demand forces on their adjacent elements of the bounding frame. Due to the high relative stiffness of the infill frames, they act as the main lateral load-resisting system and attract larger portions of the earthquake-induced inertia forces.