A probabilistic seismic demand model for required separation distance of adjacent structures

Regarding the importance of seismic pounding, the available standards and guidelines specify minimum separation distance between adjacent buildings. However, the rules in this field are generally based on some simple assumptions, and the level of confidence is uncertain. This is attributed to the fact that the relative response of adjacent structures is strongly dependent on the frequency content of the applied records and the Eigen frequencies of the adjacent structures as well. Therefore, this research aims at investigating the separation distance of the buildings through a probabilistic-based algorithm. In order to empower the algorithm, the record-to-record uncertainties, are considered by probabilistic approaches; besides, a wide extent of material nonlinear behaviors can be introduced into the structural model by the implementation of the hysteresis Bouc-Wen model. The algorithm is then simplified by the application of the linearization concept and using the response acceleration spectrum. By implementing the proposed algorithm, the separation distance in a specific probability level can be evaluated without the essential need of performing time-consuming dynamic analyses. Accuracy of the proposed method is evaluated using nonlinear dynamic analyses of adjacent structures.