Investigation of the effects of the angle of seismic incidence on the dynamic response of buildings during pounding

This study, reported in this paper, investigates parametrically, through numerical simulations, the effect of the angle of seismic incidence on the response of adjacent buildings, which are subjected to pounding phenomena as a result of insufficient or no separation distance between them. Two typical multi-storey buildings are simulated in three dimensions using simple structural modelling, while taking into account the geometry of the buildings in plan. A simple but efficient impact model is used that does not require the a priori determination of contact points, taking also into account the arbitrary geometry at the vicinity of impact when calculating the magnitude and the direction of the impact forces during pounding. The effect of the excitation angle on the dynamic response during pounding has been parametrically examined in combination with other determinant factors, such as the floor mass eccentricity and the ground motion characteristics.