EFFECT OF DIAPHRAGM DISCONTINUITY IN THE SEISMIC RESPONSE OF A REGULAR RC FRAME MULTI-STOREYED BUILDING

Abstract

Earthquakes are natural calamity which causes severe damage or collapse of buildings. Now a day’s many structures have irregular configurations both in plan and elevation. Damage due to earthquake are more severe at the point of discontinuity in the structure. Openings in the floors are common for many reasons like staircases, lighting, architectural and etc. these openings develop stresses at discontinuities. Discontinuous diaphragms are designed without stress calculations and are thought-about to be adequate ignoring any gap effects. In multi-storeyed framed building, damages from earthquake generally initiates at locations of structural weaknesses present in the lateral load resisting frames Diaphragms with abrupt discontinuities or variations in stiffness, which includes those having cut-out or open areas greater than 50 percent of the gross enclosed diaphragm area, or changes in effective diaphragm stiffness of more than 50 percent from one storey to the next. In structural engineering, a diaphragm is a structural system used to transfer lateral loads to shear walls or frames primarily through in-plane shear stress. Lateral loads are usually wind and earthquake loads. This paper focuses the general effects of diaphragm discontinuity on seismic response of multi-storeyed building on various structural parameters.