An approximation method for design applications related to sway in RC framed buildings

In this paper, an approximate method is proposed for determining sway of multistory rc buildings subjected to varioustypes of lateral loads. the calculation of both fundamental period and stability index in rc building requires the sway term ateach story level. using approximate method design engineers can estimate sway terms at each story level. the developedanalytical expressions are inserted into fundamental period and stability index equations to replace the sway terms, whichyields modified equations for fundamental period and stability index without any sway terms. it is fairly easier to employ theseequations developed by eliminating all sway terms. results obtained from the equations are remarkably close to thosegenerated by the related computer program. consequently, design engineers can reliably use the simple equations to calculatestability index and fundamental period, which enables the determination of these parameters without referring to the complexsway terms. the capability and accuracy of the proposed equations are demonstrated by a numerical example in whichcomputer program results are compared with the proposed methodology.