Effect of horizontal members on column shortening of reinforced concrete building structures

SUMMARY An improved analysis method for column shortening of tall buildings has been proposed. The analysis method considers the restraining effects of steel bars and horizontal members. A step‐by‐step method was applied for the exact displacement and internal forces for any elapsed time. The sectional properties of the asymmetrically reinforced and cracked section were also taken into account. Column shortenings of an 80‐story reinforced concrete frame–shear wall building were investigated as numerical examples. The horizontal members reduce the differential shortening between the adjacent vertical members and transfer the axial forces of more shortened vertical members to less shortened members.