Lateral Deflection of Multi-Storey Frames: A Comparative Analysis.... Ubani Obinna U.

(2016)

Lateral Deflection of Multi-storey Rigid Frame Buildings under

the Action of Wind Loads: A Comparative Analysis
Ubani Obinna Uzodimma
Works/Engineering Services Department
Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene
E-mail: rankiesubani@gmail.com
Abstract
In this paper, a twenty storey multi-storey rigid frame was subjected to a uniformly distributed wind
pressure load of 5.05 KN/m2. The deflection behaviour of the rigid frame was investigated using
manual method, and computer based method (finite element analysis). From the results of the two
methods employed, it is observed that the value obtained from manual method gave a lower value for
the top deflection of the building. The maximum deflection from finite element was 60.441mm, while
the result from manual calculation was 55.524mm. This shows that the result from finite element
analysis to manual method was about 8.135% greater than that of the manual method. However, this
offers a great insight for the speedy check of computer based processes and results.

Keywords: Multi-storey frames, deflection, wind load, finite element analysis

1.0 Introduction
Rigid frames, rigid planar shear walls, coupled shear walls, and cores are usually employed when
forming the bracing system of a multi-storey building. These different units contribute to the overall
resistance of the system, but their contributions can be very different both in weight and in nature, so
it is essential for the designer to know their behaviour in order that optimum bracing system can be
produced (Zalka, 2013). The effect of wind becomes very influential as a building gets taller. Under
the action of wind, vertical structures are subjected to load regimes which are modelled as lateral
(horizontal) loads, and as a result, lateral deflections are induced in the building (sway). It is very
important to consider this behaviour in a tall building from both statics and dynamics perspective, in
order to guarantee the performance of the structure while in use.

Rigid frames are very significant in the structural behaviour of buildings. They possess all the three
basic stiffness characteristics, i.e., they have local bending stiffness, global bending stiffness and
shear stiffness. Under lateral loads, the behaviour of frames can be complex, because they undergo
both bending and shear deformations. Hence, the behaviour of frames in resisting lateral loads may be
characterised by three types of stiffnesses and corresponding deflection types which are;

Figure 1.1: (a) Shear deformation (b) Global bending (c) Local bending (Source: Zalka
(2013)

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 Lateral Deflection of Multi-Storey Frames: A Comparative Analysis.... Ubani Obinna U. (2016)

Shear deformation
Global bending
Local bending

It is however important that the wind loads are computed and applied correctly based on
environmental and other technical data available. In England, the codes for application of wind load
can be found in BS 6399-2:1997 and more recently, Eurocode 1 Part 4 EN 1991-1-4:2005 (E). Wind
loads are dynamic and fluctuate continuously in both magnitude and position. Some relatively flexible
structures, such as tall slender masts, towers and chimneys, suspension bridges and other cable-stayed
structures may be susceptible to dynamic excitation, in which case lateral deflections will be an
important consideration. However, the vast majority of buildings are sufficiently stiff for the
deflections to be small, in which case the structure may be designed as if it was static (Reynolds et al,
2008).

When wind acts on a building, the windward faces are subjected to direct positive pressure, the
magnitude of which cannot exceed the available kinetic energy of the wind. As the wind is deflected
around the sides and over the roof of the building, it is accelerated, thereby lowering the pressure
locally on the building surface, especially just downwind of the eaves, ridge and corners. These local
areas, where the acceleration of the flow is greatest, can experience very large wind suctions
(Reynolds et al, 2008). The surfaces of enclosed buildings are also subjected to internal pressures.
Values for both external and internal pressures are obtained by multiplying the dynamic pressure by
appropriate pressure coefficients and size effect factors. The overall force on a rectangular building is
determined from the normal forces on the windward-facing and leeward-facing surfaces, the frictional
drag forces on surfaces parallel to the direction of the wind, and a dynamic augmentation factor that
depends on the building height and type (Reynolds et al, 2008).

In this paper, an explicit wind load analysis is carried out for a 20 storey framed tall building
according to Eurocode. The analysis was carried out manually, and calculations to verify the
maximum deflection at the top of the building was carried out using the manual method proposed in
(Zalka, 2013). The result was compared with result gotten from finite element analysis using StaadPro
software.

2.0 Materials and Methods

The building under consideration has been modelled as shown in Figure 1.2 below.

Figure 1.2: Framed model of the building under consideration

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The properties of the building are shown in Table 1.0 below.

Table 1.0: Properties of the building

Building Property Value
Storey height (h) 3.0 m
Total height of building (H) 60.0 m
Width of each bay (L) 6.0 m
Modulus of elasticity of concrete (E) 25 KN/mm2
Dimensions of all columns (b x d) 400mm x 400mm
Dimensions of all beams (b x d) 400mm x 750mm

Wind load analysis was carried out using the method described in EN 1991-1-4:2005 (E) while
manual lateral deflection analysis was carried out using the method described in Zalka (2013). The
structure is assumed to be located in an area with a basic wind speed of 40 m/s. The result from
manual analysis was compared with result from finite element analysis using Staad Pro.

3.0 Analysis and Result

3.1 Detailed wind load analysis

The structure is located at terrain category II (see Table 2.0).

3.3.1 Basic wind velocity

The fundamental value of the basic wind velocity Vb,0 is the characteristic 10 minute mean wind
velocity irrespective of wind direction and time of the year, at 10 m above ground level in open-
country terrain with low vegetation such as grass, and with isolated obstacles with separations of at
least 20 obstacle heights.

The basic wind velocity Vb,0 is calculated from;

Vb = Cdir . Cseason . Vb,0

Where:
Vb is the basic wind velocity defined as a function of wind direction and time of the year at 10m
above the ground of terrain category II
Vb,0 is the fundamental value of the basic wind velocity
Cdir is the directional factor (defined in the National Annex, but recommended value is 1.0)
Cseason is the season factor (defined in the National Annex, but recommended value is 1.0)

For the area and location of the building that we are considering;

Basic wind velocity Vb,0 = 40 m/s

Vb = Cdir . Cseason . Vb,0 = 1.0 1.0 40 = 40 m/s

3.3.2 Mean Wind

The mean wind velocity Vm(z) at a height z above the terrain depends on the terrain roughness and
orography, and on the basic wind velocity, Vb, and should be determined using the expression below;

Vm(z) = cr(z). co(z).Vb

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Where;

cr(z) is the roughness factor (defined below)

co(z) is the orography factor often taken as 1.0

The terrain roughness factor accounts for the variability of the mean wind velocity at the site of the
structure due to the height above the ground level and the ground roughness of the terrain upwind of
the structure in the wind direction considered. Terrain categories and parameters are shown in Table
2.0.

cr(z) = kr. In for zmin z zmax

cr(z) = cr.(zmin) for z zmin

Where:

Z0 is the roughness length

Kr is the terrain factor depending on the roughness length Z0 calculated using

.
Kr = 0.19
,

Where:
, = 0.05m (terrain category II)
Zmin is the minimum height
Zmax is to be taken as 200 m
. .
Kr = 0.19 = 0.19
.

cr(z) = kr. In = 0.19 In = 1.347

.

Therefore;
Vm(60) = cr(z). co(z).Vb = 1.347 1.0 40 = 53.88 m/s

Table 2.0: Terrain Categories and parameters (Table 4.1 EN 1991-1-4:2005 (E)

No Terrain category Z0 Zmin

(m) (m)
0 Sea or coastal area exposed to the open sea 0.003 1
I Lakes or flat and horizontal area with negligible vegetation and without 0.01 1
obstacles
II Area with low vegetation such as grass and isolated obstacles 0.05 2
(trees, buildings) with separations of at least 20 obstacle heights
III Area with regular cover of vegetation or buildings or with isolated obstacles 0.3 5
with separations of maximum 20 obstacle heights (such as villages, suburban
terrain, permanent forest)
IV Area in which at least 15 % of the surface is covered with buildings and their 1.0 10
average height exceeds 15 m

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 Lateral Deflection of Multi-Storey Frames: A Comparative Analysis.... Ubani Obinna U. (2016)

3.3.3 Wind turbulence

The turbulence intensity Iv(z) at height z is defined as the standard deviation of the turbulence divided
by the mean wind velocity. The recommended rules for the determination of IV(z) are given in the
expressions below;

Iv(z) = = for zmin z zmax

( ).
Iv(z) = Iv.(zmin ) for z zmin

Where:

kI is the turbulence factor of which the value is provided in the National Annex but the recommended
value is 1.0
Co is the orography factor described above
Z0 is the roughness length described above.
For the building that we are considering, the wind turbulence factor at 60m above the ground level;

Iv(60) = = = = 0.14104
( ). .

3.3.4 Peak Velocity Pressure

The peak velocity pressure qp(z) at height z is given by the expression below;

qp(z) = [1 + 7.Iv(z)] . . ( ) = ( ).

Where:

is the air density, which depends on the altitude, temperature, and barometric pressure tobe expected
in the region during wind storms (recommended value is 1.25kg/m3)
( ) is the exposure factor given by;
( )
( )=

is the basic velocity pressure given by; = . .

qp(60m) = [1 + 7(0.14104)] 1.25 53.88 = 3605.738 N/m2

2
Therefore, qp(60m) = 3.6057 kN/m

3.3.5 External Pressure Coefficients

From Table 7.1 of EN 1991-1-4:2005 (E)

For the building, taking the height to width ratio h/d = 2.0.
Pressure coefficient for windward side = +0.8

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 Lateral Deflection of Multi-Storey Frames: A Comparative Analysis.... Ubani Obinna U. (2016)

Pressure coefficient for leeward side = 0.6

The net pressure coefficient Cpe10 = +0.8 (0.6) = 1.4
2
The net external surface pressure on the structure = qp(z) Cpe10 = 3.6057 1.4 = 5.05 kN/m
2
Therefore, w = 5.05 kN/m

3.2 Manual calculation for deflection

Using the procedure described in Zalka (2013);

Figure 1.3: Model frame subjected to wind load

Geometrical Properties
. .
Second moment of area of beams IB = = = 0.0140625 m4

. .
Second moment of area of columns IC = = = 0.0021333 m4

Flexural rigidity of beams EIb = 25 10 0.0140625 = 351562.5 kNm2

Flexural rigidity of columns EIC = 25 10 0.0021333 = 53333.333 kNm2

.
Shear stiffness of beams = KB = = 3 = 703125 kN

The part of the shear stiffness associated with the columns is;
.
KC = = 4 = 284444.443 kN

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From the above, the reduction factor r can be defined as;

.
r= = = 0.2880
.

The shear stiffness of the frame work can now be defined as;

K = KB r = 703125 0.2880 = 202500 kN

For the local bending stiffness (EI = EIC.r), the sum of the moment of areas of the columns should be
produced and multiplied by the reduction factor r. As the bays of the frame are identical, the second
moment of area of one column is simply multiplied by n and r.

I = r = 4 0.2880 0.0021333 = 0.002457216 m4

The second global moment of area Ig is given by;

Ig = ,

Where Ac,i is the cross-sectional area of the ith column, and ti is the distance of the ith column from the
centroid of the cross-sections.

Ig = , = 0.4 0.4 (92 +32 + 32 + 92) = 28.8 m4

The total second moment of area for the bending stiffness (If) is given by;

If = IC.r + Ig = 28.8 + 0.002457216 = 28.8024 m4

The parameters S, , and H are also needed for the calculation of the maximum deflection;
. .
S=1+ =1+ = 1.00008532 1.0
.

= = = = 1.8156
.

Therefore H = 1.9485 60 = 108.936

With the above auxiliary quantities, the maximum total deflection of the frame work can now be
calculated;

ymax = y(H) = + 1

.
yb(H) = = = 0.01136 m
.

.
ys(H) = = = 0.044889 m

. . . .
yi(H) = 1 = 1 =
.

0.00082413 m

ymax = 0.01136 + 0.044889 0.00082413 = 0.055424 m = 55.424 mm

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3.3 Finite element analysis (Staad Pro);

STAAD PLANE
START JOB INFORMATION
ENGINEER DATE 21-Sep-16
END JOB INFORMATION
INPUT WIDTH 79
UNIT METER KN

JOINT COORDINATES
1 0 0 0; 2 6 0 0; 3 12 0 0; 4 18 0 0; 5 0 3 0; 6 6 3 0; 7 12 3 0; 8 18 3 0;
9 0 6 0; 10 6 6 0; 11 12 6 0; 12 18 6 0; 13 0 9 0; 14 6 9 0; 15 12 9 0;
16 18 9 0; 17 0 12 0; 18 6 12 0; 19 12 12 0; 20 18 12 0; 21 0 15 0; 22 6 15
0; 23 12 15 0; 24 18 15 0; 25 0 21 0; 26 6 21 0; 27 12 21 0; 28 18 21 0;
29 0 18 0; 30 6 18 0; 31 12 18 0; 32 18 18 0; 33 0 24 0; 34 6 24 0; 35 12
24 0;36 18 24 0; 37 0 27 0; 38 6 27 0; 39 12 27 0; 40 18 27 0; 41 0 30 0;
42 6 30 0;43 12 30 0; 44 18 30 0; 45 0 33 0; 46 6 33 0; 47 12 33 0; 48 18
33 0;49 0 36 0; 50 6 36 0; 51 12 36 0; 52 18 36 0; 53 0 39 0; 54 6 39 0; 55
12 39 0; 56 18 39 0; 57 0 42 0; 58 6 42 0; 59 12 42 0; 60 18 42 0; 61 0 45
0; 62 6 45 0; 63 12 45 0; 64 18 45 0; 65 0 48 0; 66 6 48 0; 67 12 48 0; 68
18 48 0; 69 0 51 0; 70 6 51 0; 71 12 51 0; 72 18 51 0; 73 0 54 0; 74 6 54
0; 75 12 54 0; 76 18 54 0; 77 0 57 0; 78 6 57 0; 79 12 57 0; 80 18 57 0; 81
0 60 0; 82 6 60 0; 83 12 60 0; 84 18 60 0;

MEMBER INCIDENCES
4 5 6; 5 6 7; 6 7 8; 7 9 10; 8 10 11; 9 11 12; 10 13 14; 11 14 15; 12 15
16; 13 17 18; 14 18 19; 15 19 20; 16 21 22; 17 22 23; 18 23 24; 19 25 26;
20 26 27; 21 27 28; 22 29 30; 23 30 31; 24 31 32; 25 33 34; 26 34 35; 27 35
36; 28 37 38; 29 38 39; 30 39 40; 31 41 42; 32 42 43; 33 43 44; 34 45 46;
35 46 47; 36 47 48; 37 49 50; 38 50 51; 39 51 52; 40 53 54; 41 54 55; 42 55
56; 43 57 58; 44 58 59; 45 59 60; 46 61 62; 47 62 63; 48 63 64; 49 65 66;
50 66 67; 51 67 68; 52 69 70; 53 70 71; 54 71 72; 55 73 74; 56 74 75; 57 75
76; 58 77 78; 59 78 79; 60 79 80; 61 81 82; 62 82 83; 63 83 84; 64 1 5; 65
5 9; 66 9 13; 67 13 17; 68 17 21; 69 21 29; 70 29 25; 71 25 33; 72 33 37;
73 37 41; 74 41 45; 75 45 49; 76 49 53; 77 53 57; 78 57 61; 79 61 65; 80 65
69; 81 69 73; 82 73 77; 83 77 81; 84 2 6; 85 6 10; 86 10 14; 87 14 18; 88
18 22; 89 22 30; 90 30 26; 91 26 34; 92 34 38; 93 38 42; 94 42 46; 95 46
50; 96 50 54; 97 54 58; 98 58 62; 99 62 66; 100 66 70; 101 70 74; 102 74
78; 103 78 82; 104 3 7; 105 7 11; 106 11 15; 107 15 19; 108 19 23; 109 23
31; 110 31 27; 111 27 35; 112 35 39; 113 39 43; 114 43 47; 115 47 51; 116
51 55; 117 55 59; 118 59 63; 119 63 67; 120 67 71; 121 71 75; 122 75 79;
123 79 83; 124 4 8; 125 8 12; 126 12 16; 127 16 20; 128 20 24; 129 24 32;
130 32 28; 131 28 36; 132 36 40; 133 40 44; 134 44 48; 135 48 52; 136 52
56; 137 56 60; 138 60 64; 139 64 68; 140 68 72; 141 72 76; 142 76 80; 143
80 84;

DEFINE MATERIAL START

ISOTROPIC CONCRETE
E 2.5e+007
POISSON 0.17
DENSITY 23.5616
ALPHA 1e-005
DAMP 0.05
END DEFINE MATERIAL
MEMBER PROPERTY
4 TO 63 PRIS YD 0.75 ZD 0.4
64 TO 143 PRIS YD 0.4 ZD 0.4
CONSTANTS
MATERIAL CONCRETE ALL
SUPPORTS
1 TO 4 FIXED

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 Lateral Deflection of Multi-Storey Frames: A Comparative Analysis.... Ubani Obinna U. (2016)

LOAD 1 LOADTYPE None TITLE LOAD CASE 1

MEMBER LOAD
64 TO 83 UNI GX 5.05
PERFORM ANALYSIS PRINT STATICS CHECK
LOAD LIST ALL
PRINT ANALYSIS RESULTS
FINISH

Figure 1.4: Deflection profile of the frame under the action wind load

Maximum deflection from finite element analysis (Staad Pro) = 60.441 mm

4.0 Discussion of result

From the results from the two methods employed, it is observed that the value obtained from the
method of Zalka (2013) gave a lower value for the top deflection of the building. The maximum
deflection from finite element was 60.441mm, while the result from manual calculation was
55.524mm. This shows that the result from finite element analysis to manual method was about
8.135%.

5.0 Conclusion
The procedure and formular presented by Zakla (2013) for the deflection of rigid frames is very
simple and expressive, identifying three distinctive parts: bending mode, shear mode and their
interaction. The method can be conveniently employed for investigating the deflection in multi-storey
and generally yields a lower bound solution from finite element analysis. From the present study, a
difference of 8.135% was observed from finite element analysis and the manual method presented.

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References
Zalka K.A (2013): Structural Analysis of Regular Multi-Storey Buildings. CRC Press. Taylor &
Francis Group. ISBN-13: 978-0-203-84094-8

Reynolds C.E., Steedman J.C., Threlfall J.A. (2008): Reynolds Reinforced Concrete Designers
Handbook (11th Edition). Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN-I3: 978-0-203-08775-6

Eurocode 1 Part 4 (2005): Actions on structures Part 14: General actions Wind actions

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