Analysis of earthquake induced pounding between adjacent buildings in a row

Abstract Previous earthquakes have shown that a significant number of adjacent buildings arranged in series were damaged due to collision. Pounding between adjacent structures in series causes them to inflict multiple blows on each other, which is more complex than pounding between two adjacent buildings. It is challenging to draw a universal conclusion about the impact of pounding on structural responses because it significantly dependents on the neighboring structures and the characteristics of the ground motion. Previous research has produced inconsistent or conflicting research conclusions due to various parameters. To address the complexity of these parameters, the dimensional analysis method is employed. This paper establishes a mathematical model for the dimensionless collision response of adjacent structures in a row. The layout of the structures is considered though three different configurations, and the effects of unilateral and bilateral collisions are compared. The analysis also considers the impact of frequency ratio, mass ratio and gap size of oscillators. According to the impact of pounding, the displacement and velocity responses of the outer structures with low mass and stiffness can be divided into multiple spectral regions based on the frequency ratio of the structure and excitation. The effect of mass ratio and frequency ratio on response of the outer flexible structures is correlated to the spectral regions. The results indicate that locating a structure with small mass and stiffness outside is more dangerous, as it causes a much larger pounding force and displacement of the outer structure. In comparison to the unilateral impact response, the bilateral impact induces a smaller displacement of the middle structure with slight mass and stiffness.