Seismic assessment of a steel braced plan mass symmetric/asymmetric building structure

•Seismic analysis of a steel CBF structure subjected to plan mass eccentricity.•The structure is not designed against plan mass asymmetry.•Additional ductility, drifts and rotations of the asymmetric structure are quantified.•Performance in terms of ductility demand is good but poor for drift & floor rotation.•New relationships for bracing ductility demand and slenderness are developed.

This paper presents a seismic response investigation into a code designed concentrically braced frame structure that is subjected to but not designed for in-plan mass eccentricity. The structure has an accidental uneven distribution of mass in plan resulting in an increased torsional component of vibration. The level of inelasticity that key structural elements in plan mass asymmetric structures are subjected to is important when analysing their ability to sustain uneven seismic demands. In-plan mass asymmetry of moment resisting frame and shear wall type structures have received significant investigation, however, the plan asymmetric response of braced frame type structures is less well understood. A three-dimensional non-linear time history analysis model is created to capture the torsional response of the plan mass asymmetric structure to quantify the additional ductility demand, interstorey drifts and floor rotations. Results show that the plan mass asymmetric structure performs well in terms of ductility demand, but poorly in terms of interstorey drifts and floor rotations when compared to the plan mass symmetric structure. New linear relationships are developed between the normalised ductility demand and normalised slenderness of the bracing on the sides of the plan mass symmetric/asymmetric structures that the mass is distributed towards and away from.