Pounding between Adjacent Frame Structures under Earthquake Excitation Based on Transfer Matrix Method of Multibody Systems

In this paper, the case of two adjacent frame structures is studied by establishing a mechanical model based on the transfer matrix method of multibody system (MS-TMM). The transfer matrices of the related elements and total transfer equation are deduced, combining with the Hertz-damp mode. The pounding process of two adjacent frame structures is calculated by compiling the relevant MATLAB program during severe ground motions. The results of the study indicate that the maximum error of the peak pounding forces and the peak displacements at the top of the frame structure obtained by the MS-TMM and ANSYS are 6.22% and 9.86%, respectively. Comparing the calculation time by ANSYS and MS-TMM, it shows that the computation efficiency increases obviously by using the MS-TMM. The pounding mainly occurs at the top of the short structure; meanwhile, multiple pounding at the same time may occur when the separation gap is small. The parametric investigation has led to the conclusion that the pounding force, the number of poundings, the moment of pounding, and the structural displacement are sensitive to the change of the seismic peak acceleration and the separation gap size.

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