Evaluation of building separation distance required to prevent pounding during strong earthquakes

Presented herein is an analytical procedure for evaluating the separation distance required between two buildings to prevent pounding during strong earthquakes. The procedure is based on equivalent linearization of non-linear hysteretic behaviour and application of the well-known CQC method of weighting normal mode responses. The numerical results obtained are compared with corresponding results obtained using the well-known SRSS and ABS methods.