10-26-2009, 12:36 PM
Building Horizontal Torsion. Irregularly shaped buildings tend to twist during seismic loading causing the exterior columns to be subjected to additional torsional moments, thus causing the structure to fail. Nearly all 3D finite element analysis software accounts for all deflections including building twisting but most column design does not consider column torsion. I humbly ask my fellow structural engineers to shed light on the matter.
Engineering is the professional art of applying science to the optimum conversion of natural resources to the benefit of man