Dimensional response analysis of rocking wall-frame building structures with control devices subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions

This paper addresses the influences of control devices on the seismic responses of rocking wall-frame building structures based on dimensional analysis. Firstly, the flexural-shear beam is adopted to represent the rocking wall -frame buildings, and the control elements include concentrated control devices (CCD, e.g., precast tendons) and distributed control devices (DCD, e.g., dampers installed at floors). Particularly, the closed-form solutions are derived for the static and dynamic responses of the flexural-shear beam with concentrated and distributed control devices. Dimensional response analysis of rocking wall-frame buildings based on intrinsic scale shows that, the normalized seismic responses present complete self-similarity and harmonious order. Then, the vibration char-acteristics and static responses of the flexural-shear beam are examined. Results indicate that the fundamental period of rocking wall-frame buildings clearly decreases with strengthening DCD. The base moment resisted by the rocking wall remarkably increases with strengthening CCD, and both devices lead to a notable increase in the base shear of the rocking wall. Finally, the dimensional response analysis of rocking wall-frame buildings under near -fault pulse-like ground motions illustrates that, DCD generally suppresses interstory drift response sufficiently, but causes a significant drift concentration. In contrast, CCD does not clearly reduce interstory drift response, yet sufficiently avoids drift concentration. Additionally, both devices generally are not beneficial to control the floor acceleration responses to near-fault impulsive motions, especially DCD. Thus, the appropriate control device should be selected according to the responses concerned in the practical seismic design of buildings.