On the pounding of structures during strong earthquakes

The pounding of structures during earthquakes is considered with nonlinear deformation, damage of bearing members, and large relative displacements being taken into account. The consideration is based on the rigid-collapsing model in which all effects of damage, fracture, and local loss of stability are concentrated in most stressed zones (for example, lower story in multistory buildings), while the other parts of the structure are treated as rigid bodies. To study ambivalent character of the pounding, the behavior of two adjacent multistory buildings are compared with the behavior of an isolated building. Mutual pounding of adjacent buildings with different number of stories is considered. In particular, the process of collapse of a multistory building resulting from the impact interaction of this building with an adjacent building with a reduced number of stories is modeled.