Studying the Seismic Behavior of Short Columns in Existing RCBuilding Considering the Effect of Different Types of Soils

Abstract

Short columns in reinforced concrete structures are subjected to large shear forces and often show weak performance under the influence of earthquake

loads due to their non-ductile response. When designing buildings we must concentrate on the elasticity of soil rather than concentrating on the idea that these buildings are fixed to the ground because elasticity of soil is of a very fundamental importance on the dynamic properties of the building and its response. The current research deals with the study of the dynamic behavior of short columns in an existing residential building located in Tartous city by comparing them with columns of greater height in the same building under the influence of seismic loads using ETABS-2016 software. The effect of soil-structure interaction was taken into consideration in representing the soil by using a set of elastic springs by selecting three types of soil with different properties. A comparison of the seismic response of the short columns was made by comparing the lateral displacements, lateral drift ratios and shear forces when the base is fixed and when applying the soil-structure interaction. The results showed an increase in the lateral displacements, drift ratios and shear forces in short columns and columns of greater height after the soil effect is taken into account so that the values of displacements and drifts in short columns were smaller than in columns of greater height but the values of shear forces in short columns  were greater than in columns of greater height.