Development of Seismic Criteria for Seismic Responses of Regular and Irregular Structures in Plan considering Vertical Component of the Nearfield Records

Field observations of the incurred damages to the buildings and bridges due to earthquakes in near field show there are various failure modes which are in relation to the forces caused by vertical component. While vertical component of earthquake for ordinary buildings in most seismic regulations and standards is not considered. Therefore, in the current study the effects of vertical and horizontal components of earthquake on regular and mass asymmetric structures are investigated simultaneously. The study considers a model of one-story structure with 3 degrees of freedom, lateral displacement, torsional displacement of roof level and vertical displacement, on a rigid foundation. It is concluded that for all such structures in the near-fault zones, the effect of vertical component must be considered. In case of stiff structures, the effect of the force on displacement of such structures is of importance and the effect of vertical component can be disregarded. The use of vertical design response spectrum to calculate the vertical forces caused by near field earthquakes is also recommended.