Evaluating Seismic Performance of Steel Industrial Building with Different Bracing Type

Abstract

Earthquakes are unpredictable natural events that release significant amounts of energy, often causing severe damage to structures. Traditionally considered safe from seismic activity due to its distance from active seismic zones, Malaysia has recently experienced notable seismic events, particularly in Sabah, East Malaysia. Cities like Lahad Datu, Ranau, and Tawau in Sabah have recorded over seven earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5. This trend underscores the need for Malaysia to address and mitigate the impacts of earthquakes on structures. In response, Malaysia has adopted the British Standard for seismic resistance, incorporating Eurocode provisions for industrial buildings. Despite the region's proximity to low seismic zones, many industrial buildings in Sarawak, used for storage and manufacturing, lack of seismic resistance. This study investigates the potential impact of earthquakes on these structures. By using SAP2000, Nonlinear Pushover Analysis and Nonlinear Time History Analysis were conducted on steel industrial buildings to assess their behavior under lateral pushover forces and dynamic ground motions, scaled to local seismic intensities per Eurocode 8 (EC8). Various parameters, such as base shear, maximum displacement, and spectrum curves, were examined, along with the effects of different bracing configurations and building heights. The results indicate that seismic performance decreases with increasing building height, with maximum displacements of 36mm for a 10m building and 99mm for a 20m building. Additionally, 4 X-bracing configurations significantly improve performance, reducing lateral displacement from 36mm to 14mm (pushover analysis) and from 11mm to 0.3mm (time history analysis), and enhancing base shear from 146.617kN to 234.941kN. The findings demonstrate that incorporating bracing systems can effectively enhance the seismic performance of industrial buildings.