Calculation of Separation Distance between Adjacent Buildings: A Review on Codal Provisions

Structures are being built very close to each other in metropolitan areas where the cost of land is very high. Due to the proximity of the structures, they often collide with each other when subjected to earthquakes. To mitigate the amount of damage from pounding, the most simplest and effective way is to provide minimum separation distance. Generally most of the existing buildings in seismically moderate regions are built without codal provisions. The main objective of the present study is to check the adequacy of provisions given in codes of various countries. For this purpose, four pairs of structures were selected. The gap between structures was estimated according to codes of different countries and the same were subjected to earthquake excitation. Some codal provisions failed to satisfy the safety requirements, whereas some were safe. Based on this study, recommendations were drawn.