Analysis of seismic separation gap between two adjacent reinforced concrete buildings

Abstract

Inadequate separation gap between two adjacent buildings leads to the phenomenon of seismic pounding. The seismic pounding refers to the hammering action between the adjacent buildings amid earthquake vibrations. This type of collisions between closely spaced buildings magnifies the seismic responses by many folds and causes damages to both structural and non-structural components of the buildings. This paper aims at analyzing the adequate required seismic separation gap between two adjacent Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings by the equivalent static force method (ESFM). The variation of required the seismic gap with structural parameters like grade of concrete, zone factor and storey height is examined. An expression for calculation of safe separation gap between adjacent RC buildings is proposed to avoid seismic pounding based on statistical analysis.