Static-dynamic distribution factors method for tall building analysis

Abstract

A new approximate method of analysing three-dimensional tall building structures is presented. The method is a further development of the distribution factors method developed by Leung. It is proposed, based on the observation that the pattern of the out-of-plane displacement and rotation of the joints of a particular floor generally follows the shape of its own natural modes, to include the eigenvectors of the floor out-of-plane deflection as distribution factors in the analysis. By using both static and dynamic distribution factors to reduce the number of DOF, an efficient and yet sufficiently accurate analysis method is developed. Numerical examples demonstrate that in general the addition of only a few number of eigenvectors can significantly improve the accuracy of the results.