| Abstract: | A scheme is proposed to calculate the effect of torsion on each lateral load resisting element of asymmetrical buildings in the context of the response spectrum technique. The scheme consists of: (i) Obtain the modal shear and torque on the building by the response spectrum technique, (ii) Compute the total modal shear forces on each frame by resolving the modal shear and torque on the building according to principles of structural mechanics. The shears on each frame due to the lateral load effect and torsional effect are combined algebraically, (iii) Obtain the total shear force on each frame by combining the total modal shears on that frame in a root sum square manner. Since the proper phase relationship between the lateral load effect and torsional effect is accounted for on a modal basis, it is believed that the proposed scheme provides a more realistic load estimate on the frames than the conventional approach. An example of a simplified mono-symmetrical frame structure is chosen to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed scheme, using dynamic time-history analysis as a standard for comparison. |
