Seismic response of torsionally irregular single story structures

Impulse ground motions are applied to single story structures with different in-plane wall strength and stiffness, rotational inertia, and out-of-plane wall stiffness to obtain the dynamic response considering torsion. A simple hand method to evaluate the impulse response is developed. It is shown that the median increase in response of the critical component considering torsion from many earthquake records is similar to that from impulse records. Using this information, a simple design methodology is proposed which enables the likely earthquake response of critical elements considering torsion to be obtained from building analyses not considering torsion. A design example is also provided.