Behavior of Building Structure Subject to Tsunami Load

This study aims to analyze of the structural behavior of two-story building under the combination of earthquake forces and tsunami hydrodynamic forces, with model variations included the percentage of wall’s opening and thickness. The 3-D modeling of two-story buildings were conducted in this study using software SAP 2000; the first model consisted of wall panels with the percentage of openings of 0% (PD0), 25% (PD25), 35% (PD35), and 50% (PD50), while the second model included buildings with 150 mm and 250 mm wall thickness. In addition, the hydrodynamic force predicted by numerical simulations based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) was compared to that of predicted by semi-empirical design equations. The results of the wall panel modeling show that the greater the percentage of wall’s opening, the smaller the hydrodynamic load that can be carried out by the structure and hence, the lesser the stresses on the wall. The increase of building’s wall thickness from 150 mm to 250 mm under the combination of earthquake and tsunami loads decreased the stress on walls, moments and transverse forces. Conversely, the tensile and shear stresses on the walls were increased due to the combination of tsunami loads. The comparison of hydrodynamic force shows that the maximum force predicted by SPH was generally higher to that of predicted by the semi-empirical design equations.

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