Premium
Numerical study of fracture propagating through column and brace of Ashiyahama residential building in Kobe earthquake
Author(s) -
Takabatake Hideo,
aka Taijiro,
Tanaki Tatsuro
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the structural design of tall and special buildings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1541-7808
pISSN - 1541-7794
DOI - 10.1002/tal.265
Subject(s) - brace , structural engineering , column (typography) , welding , joint (building) , fracture (geology) , finite element method , brittle fracture , brittleness , ductility (earth science) , frame (networking) , boundary element method , engineering , geology , geotechnical engineering , materials science , mechanical engineering , creep , connection (principal bundle) , composite material
There are significant unprecedented structural damages at Ashiyahama residential high‐rise steel building complex due to the Hyogo‐ken Nanbu Earthquake (Kobe Earthquake), which occurred on January 17, 1995. This paper is concerned with two issues of steel fracture observed in the mega‐structure that have been attracting the special attention of structural engineers. These are fracture propagating through very thick‐plated steel column and brace, and brittle‐type fracture at column–column welded connections. The cause of the former damage is first examined using numerical computation with recourse to an explicit method of dynamic analysis based on a continuous medium model. By taking account of the complexity of the mega‐structure, and of the limitation of numerical computation, the analysis is carried out in two distinct steps. In the first approach, the global frame is dynamically analysed on the basis of beam element modelling; the second approach calls for an analysis, based on shell element modelling, of a partial frame that is composed of the joint and the adjacent brace, beam and columns. It turns out that the axial breakage is initiated from the brace and propagates through the column. The second issue of the fracture at column–column welded connections is investigated with consideration to energy balance, or the difference in the total energy across the boundary between the two elements connected at the weld. The paper concludes from a practical point of view with recommendations to enhance earthquake‐resistant capability in the structural design. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.