Seismic Stability Assessment of a High-Rise Concrete Tower Utilizing Endurance Time Analysis

This paper investigates the seismic performance of a high-rise telecommunication tower using the endurance time analysis (ETA) method. Conceptually, the ETA is a time history-based incremental dynamic procedure in which the structure is excited using an intensifying acceleration function. The structural performance is then evaluated based on the equivalent seismic intensity level that the structure can endure while satisfying the required performance goal. In this paper, the ETA is applied to the Tehran telecommunication concrete tower. The accuracy of the ETA is assessed by comparing the results with those obtained from the time history analysis (THA) and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). For this purpose, a two-dimensional fiber element model of the tower is developed and analyzed. It is found that the ETA can estimate the THA results at the equivalent target time, and the general trend of the IDA curves with acceptable accuracy, while ETA requires considerably less computational effort. Also it is realized that the peak ground velocity and spectral acceleration considering the higher modes effect are the most appropriate intensity measure parameters for comparison of the IDA and ETA methods.