Motion Based Design Methodology for Buildings

Boutros  S. ABBOUD KLINK

Current preliminary design methodologies for buildings are primarily strength‑based. Such methods are adequate when strength is expected to govern the design. But as the slenderness of structures increases, motion becomes the dominant criterion and strength‑based design methods become deficient. In this thesis, a preliminary design approach for structures where motion dominates the design, capable of supporting the simultaneous satisfaction of multiple performance objectives as well as the selection and deployment of motion control mechanisms in structures is proposed. Specifically, methods for distributing energy storage, energy absorption, and energy dissipation elements along the height of building structures are developed to yield bounded maximum deformation profiles when the buildings are subjected to seismic excitation.