Publication

Abstract : Unregulated development in the Himalayan region indicates that RC frame buildings up to 9 storeys are being constructed without even designing them for gravity loads. Many features of these buildings render them vulnerable to lateral shaking, including column bases rested on ground at different heights (multi-support excitation of the building on steep hill slopes connected to the ground at least at 5 levels), and half brick masonry infill walls distributed irregularly in plan within each storey. This paper presents results of nonlinear analyses preformed on typical buildings on steep hill slopes with two possible types of column base connectivity to the ground. The paper finds RC buildings with large plan size (either in the valley direction or along road direction) vulnerable to strong seismic shaking. Only small plan buildings are most suitable for construction along steep hill slopes.