STUDY OF DIFFERENT CONTACT ELEMENTS IN POUNDINGS OF STEEL BUILDINGS

Pounding of adjacent building have been seen in the moderate and strong earthquakes. There are different methods to model the impact. One of these methods is contact elements. Contact elements include linear and nonlinear elastic and viscoelastic and Hertz-damp elements. Investigators have generally studied on contact elements in elastic structures. In this study, the ability of different contact modelings is added to Opensees software. Validation of modeling is achieved by comparing the numerical result of this study with other investigation's numerical studies. Simulations between analytical modeling and experimental studies show that to conquer displacement, results of different contact elements are the same, but velocity and contact force results of elements with and without damping have more accuracy. Finally these elements are used to model the contact of 5-story building under 6 records, in two left to right and right to left states. As regards, Hertz-damp has the least uncertainty of modeling; therefore results of other elements are compared with this element. Results generally show that accuracy of nonlinear elements is more than linear elements. This is more obvious in the maximum contact forces.