Comparative Evaluation of Mode Combination Methods in Seismic Analysis Using Response Spectrum Method for Tank Structure Using FEA - Seismic FEA
Typical seismic analysis using response spectrum method involves several steps from the initial step of extracting the modes. At the initial stage Eigen values are extracted corresponding to the modes of vibration. These give us Eigen vectors which are a series of relative displacement shapes; however these do not correspond to real displacements or stresses. Participation factors asses these Eigen vectors and grades them according to contribution they will have to the overall solution. Based on the spectral seismic acceleration, participation factor is used to calculate the mode coefficient, which is more of a scaling factor to give physical meaning to the values. Once the modes are extracted, the key issue is of combining these modes to obtain the seismic response. The modes cannot be added algebraically in reality as all the modes do not occur at the same time. Hence we employ methods which can add the modes in a more realistic manner. The objective of this paper is to do a comparative study of various mode combination methods with a focus on tank structures and study the effect of various geometrical parameters on the combination methods