Taking the structural configuration which already satisfies the criteria in both translational

direction, the torsional stability of this system will be checked here using DIN provisions.

According to DIN Provision (DIN 1045-1, Section 8.6.2), A building may be assumed to have
sufficient lateral stiffness provided that:

1 Ecm  I 1 Gcm  I T 1
   for m  4
htot  FEd , j  r j2 2.28  FEd , j  r j2 0.6
j j

Where,
htot= total height of the building
m = Number of Stories
FEd= total gravity load at service acting on the bracing and non-bracing structures, i.e-
walls and columns

rj2
= the squared Euclidian distance between the shear center and each bracing and non-
bracing elements (i.e- walls and columns)

Ecm  I = Sum of bending stiffness and torsional stiffness (un-cracked) of all vertical
bracing elements in the direction under consideration. The moment of inertia is assumed
to be constant throughout the height of the building.


Ecm  I   Ei  I x ,i  xMmi
2
 Ei  I y ,i  yMmi
2
 Ecm  Ii  2  Ei  I xy ,i  xMmi  yMmi 
Gcm(Shear modulus) = Ecm/2.4
IT = Saint Vennant’s torsional moment of inertia

1|Page
Hence, the torsional stability checks according to DIN 1045-1, starting with the previous
system which satisfies stability criteria in the x- and y- directions is as follows:

Fig-1: Arrangement type- a

:
The computation results are as follows

Shear Center
Ecm  I (MNm4) =4.33X108
Xo (m) 28.67 IT(m4)= 0.69
Yo (m) 12.42  FEd , j  r j2 (MNm2)= 44458.58
j

Table 1: Shear center and alpha- calculation

Alpha Value
1.67
α

2|Page
This value of alpha- is on the borderline for safety against torsional instability. This cannot be
acceptable as the calculation for service load did not include the live load variations and the
loads of stairs, sanitary and electrical installations (pipes, fittings etc). In addition the wall
thickness is assumed to be constant with 500 mm thickness along the whole height. If the
thickness is to be reduced on the upper floors, the alpha value will further be reduced. Hence,
another arrangement is investigated below.

Fig-1: Arrangement type- a

The computation results are as follows

Shear Center
Ecm  I (MNm4) =5.31X108
Xo (m) 27.67 IT(m4)= 0.762
Yo (m) 12.83  FEd , j  r j2 (MNm2)=40,761.85
j

Table 1: Shear center and alpha- calculation

Alpha Value
1.93
α

3|Page