Analytical Study on Seismic Behaviour and Earthquake Resist Design of Building Structure

Abstract

This research paper presents an analytical study on the seismic behaviour and earthquake-resistant design of multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings by evaluating the effect of column shape, size, and orientation on structural performance. A G+14 storey Special Moment Resisting Frame building is modeled and analyzed using STAAD Pro software as per IS 1893 seismic code provisions. Different structural models are developed by varying column configurations to study their influence on key seismic response parameters such as base shear, top storey displacement, storey drift, stiffness, and fundamental time period. The comparative analysis shows that optimized column orientation significantly improves structural stiffness and reduces lateral displacement and drift. Models with unfavorable column orientation and variable column size across building height exhibit increased flexibility and reduced seismic resistance. The study confirms that the strong column-weak beam principle serves as a fundamental element which enables structures to exhibit ductile behavior during seismic events. The research findings present practical design guidelines which help engineers choose suitable column designs that improve earthquake protection and building safety and performance in areas with seismic activity for reinforced concrete structures. The researchers investigated and validated the most recent methods used for analyzing and detecting diabetic retinopathy through color retinal photography that employs deep learning techniques. The researchers analyzed the color characteristics of fundus images from the visual diabetic retinopathy dataset. The paper identifies specific research problems which require additional investigation according to its findings.

Introduction

Earthquakes are among the most destructive natural disasters, threatening buildings and infrastructure, particularly in urban areas with high-rise constructions. Reinforced concrete (RC) structures are widely used for their strength and cost efficiency, but poorly designed RC buildings are highly vulnerable to seismic forces. Structural performance during earthquakes depends on factors like stiffness, mass distribution, ductility, and configuration, with columns playing a crucial role in determining building stiffness, lateral force distribution, and energy dissipation. Rectangular columns aligned along their strong axis perform better than square columns in resisting lateral forces.

Modern seismic design codes, such as IS 1893 and IS 13920, guide engineers in designing earthquake-resistant structures. Advanced software like STAAD Pro and ETABS enables response spectrum and nonlinear analysis for performance-based seismic design. Recent research emphasizes pushover and nonlinear time history analyses to evaluate building behavior, but few studies examine the combined effects of column shape, size, and orientation on seismic performance.

This study focuses on evaluating different column configurations in multi-storey RC buildings under seismic loading. Using STAAD Pro, models of G+14 storey buildings in Seismic Zone V are analyzed for base shear, storey drift, top-storey displacement, and fundamental period. The research applies the strong column–weak beam concept and performance-based design principles to identify optimal column designs that maximize seismic safety, structural efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, providing guidance for earthquake-resistant construction.

Conclusion

The research study analyzed how a G+14 building with reinforced concrete Special Moment Resisting Frame system responded to earthquakes through different column designs which included changes to their shape and size and position. The analysis used standard seismic procedures to assess key response parameters which included base shear and top storey displacement and storey drift and stiffness and fundamental time period. The comparative results demonstrate that column configuration serves as a critical factor which determines how multi-storey buildings respond to seismic events. The study found that the optimized column orientation model (M-2) exhibited the best seismic response because it achieved higher base shear capacity and reduced lateral displacement and lower storey drift and the shortest fundamental time period which showed improved stiffness and earthquake force resistance. Proper alignment of rectangular columns along the weaker structural direction significantly increases their ability to carry lateral loads while it maintains control over excessive deformation. The unfavorable orientation that the models exhibited through their design showed reduced structural strength which made them more susceptible to seismic activity. The models with different column sizes (M-4 and M-5) displayed irregular stiffness patterns which resulted in increased flexibility. The research results demonstrate that engineers need to understand the strong column–weak beam concept as it protects buildings from earthquakes while providing safe economical code-compliant design methods. 1) Column orientation significantly governs building stiffness and seismic response. 2) Optimized column alignment reduces displacement and storey drift. 3) Higher stiffness results in lower time period and better seismic control. 4) Variable column sizes introduce stiffness irregularities. 5) Model M-2 demonstrated the best overall seismic performance.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Roma Vaidya, Arka Mitra. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.