Non-linear FEM analysis of pounding-involved response of buildings under non-uniform earthquake excitation

The aim of this short paper is to show the results of the study investigating the influence of non-uniform earthquake excitation, due to spatial seismic effects connected with the propagation of seismic wave, on the pounding-involved response of two buildings. The three-dimensional non-linear FEM analysis has been conducted using the detailed models of colliding structures. Acceleration records for different structural supports have been generated applying the method of conditional stochastic modelling with the proposed spatiotemporal correlation function. The results of the study show that the non-uniform ground motion excitation may considerably influence the pounding-involved behaviour of buildings. The results also indicate that the applied method of conditional stochastic modelling is effective in generating the ground motion records at different support locations of large buildings. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.