Stability assessment of tilted G+4 RCC buildings located at different seismic zones: A parametric study.

: Tilt of G+4 RCC buildings with isolated foundation systems due to differential settlement is one of the common problems, which affects the overall structural stability of the real life buildings. Tilt may be caused due to excavation of adjacent plots of the building without adequate lateral support, poor workmanship, overloading on cantilevered portions above first floor level, improper design and construction etc. The overall stability of the tilted RCC buildings mainly depend on the type & amount of tilt along with the building configuration. NDT results of concrete members are nowadays practiced extensively in real life situation to evaluate the strength and quality; which are sparse to assess the stability of the structures as these are of qualitative and piecewise manner. Additionally, the seismic force; which depends on the seismic zone of the building site, adversely affects the building stability. Thus, the parametric study on the stability of various buildings subjected to different type & extent of tilts; situated on different seismic zones seems to be significantly important. This present paper aims to assess the stability of various G+4 RCC buildings of same plan area & height, with different number of bays in their structural system, located at different seismic zones; when subjected to different extent of uniaxial and biaxial tilts. Different G+4 RCC buildings with different structural configurations and located at different seismic zones; subjected to different types & amount of tilt are duly considered in the finite element framework of SAP2000 for the parametric numerical analyses. Along with type & extent of tilt, it is found that building configuration and zone of seismicity significantly affects the overall stability of these multistoried tilted buildings. The present study may have a great scope for safety assessment and upgradation of real life medium high RCC building structures subjected to tilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]