Torsion Analysis of High-Rise Buildings using Quadrilateral Panel Elements with Drilling D.O.F.s

Generally, the finite element method is a powerful procedure for analysis of tall buildings. Yet, it should be noted that there are some problems in the application of many finite elements to the analysis of tall building structures. The presence of artificial flexure and parasitic shear effects in many lower order plane stress and membrane elements, cause the numerical procedure to converge in a low rate. Nevertheless, very large hardware memory storage is needed because of using fine meshes. Hence, it should be better to develop and use elements which can model the structural system of tall buildings in coarse finite element meshes and converge fast. The panel type finite elements presented in this study, have vertical and horizontal degrees of freedom similar to those of wide column analogy in the frame method. There are two rotational degrees of freedom to be defined at the two end of the panel element, which denote the rotational freedom equal to the first derivative of lateral displacement. The proposed elements can simply be used in tall building analysis. The application of the proposed elements can be performed without using a fine mesh. Examples are given to denote the accuracy and efficiency of the presented panel elements.