BEHAVIOR OF ASYMMETRIC BUILDING SYSTEMS UNDER A MONOTONIC LOAD .2.

Buildings subjected to a large intensity ground motion deform well int o the inelastic range, In particular asymmetric buildings undergo coup led inelastic lateral and torsional deformations that could be the gov erning factors in their design. The relationship between the system's asymmetry and its inelastic deformations is yet to be determined. This study is a detailed examination of the effects of the stiffness and s trength eccentricities on the inelastic behaviour of the asymmetric bu ilding system. Results showing the asymmetric building system's deform ations under possible combinations of stiffness and strength eccentric ities are examined. Ultimately the questions of what type of deformati ons the asymmetric building system will undergo and what happens to it s behaviour as it approaches collapse will be answered. Two asymmetric building models are used. One model is laterally supported on wall-co lumn elements which provide resistance in one principal direction. The second model is laterally supported on columns which provide resistan ce in both principal directions making biaxial bending effects signifi cant. For simplicity, the analytical models are a monosymmetric one-ba y, one-storey frame; the lateral-load resisting elements are replaced by nonlinear springs; and the loading is a monotonic static load appli ed at the centre of mass.