Published Paper Details:

Earthquakes in different parts of the world demonstrated the hazardous consequences and vulnerability of inadequate structures. In present scenario buildings with floating column is a typical feature in the modern multistory construction in urban India. The floating column is a vertical element which at its lower level rests on a beam. The seismic inertia forces generated at its floor levels in a building need to be brought down along the height to the ground and any deviation or discontinuity in this load transfer path results in poor performance. Thus features such as floating columns are highly undesirable in buildings built in seismically active area. Present study examines the adverse effect of the floating columns in building. Models of the frame are developed for multi-storey RC buildings with and without floating columns to carry out comparative study of structural parameters such as natural period, base shear, and horizontal displacement under seismic excitation. Results obtained depicts that the alternative measure of providing lateral bracing to decrease the lateral deformation, should be taken. The RC building with floating column after providing lateral bracing is analyzed. A comparative study of the results obtained is carried out for all above three models. The building with floating columns after providing bracings showed improved seismic performance