Parametric stress distribution and displacement functions for tall buildings under lateral loads

In this study, effects of applying higher order axial displacement distribution to solve a continuum model for static analysis of the combined system of framed tube, shear core and outrigger-belt truss system in high-rise buildings are investigated. Framed tube system is modeled using an orthotropic box beam analogy approach and the interaction between shear core and outrigger-belt truss system on framed tube is modeled with rotating spring placed at outrigger-belt truss location. The axial displacement distributions in web and flange panels along structure's height are proposed to be fifth-order and fourth-order polynomials, respectively. Analytic analyses are carried out on the basis of the principle of minimum potential energy. A detailed work is carried out through two numerical examples and the accuracy of proposed approximation functions is compared with previous work and finite element analysis. Results demonstrate that the proposed parametric stress distribution and displacement functions are more accurate than previously proposed functions in comparison with the finite element solution. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.