Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

www.elsevier.com/locate/tws

Coupled lateral-torsion vibration of asymmetric

shear-wall structures
J.S. Kuang *, S.C. Ng
Department of Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay,
Kowloon, Hong Kong

Received 29 May 2000; received in revised form 9 June 2000; accepted 19 June 2000

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of dynamic performance of asymmetric shear-wall structures.

In the analysis, the asymmetric shear-wall structure is replaced by an equivalent thin-walled
beam with lateral flexure and warping torsion deformations. Due to the asymmetry of the floor
plan, the natural vibration of the structure is a coupled vibration, where lateral flexure
vibrations in two orthogonal principal directions couple with a warping torsion vibration. Based
on the continuum technique and the D’Alembert’s principle, the governing differential equation
of natural vibration and the corresponding eigenvalue problem for asymmetric multi-bent wall
structures are derived. By employing the Galerkin technique, a method of solution is proposed
for analysis of coupled vibration of generally asymmetric shear-wall structures and for estimate
of the coupled natural frequencies and associated mode shape in coupled vibration. Results
obtained from the proposed method for the example structure show good agreement with those
of finite element analysis. It has been shown that the proposed analysis provides an efficient
and accurate means of dynamic analysis of asymmetric shear-wall structures in coupled
vibration.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In a tall shear-wall building, the functional requirements result generally in an

asymmetric location of the structural elements [1] as shown in Fig. 1. In such struc-
tural configurations, the lateral deflections in the two orthogonal principal directions
and torsional rotation can no longer be treated separately and independently due to

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +852-2358-7162; fax: +852-2358-1534.

E-mail address: cejkuang@ust.hk (J.S. Kuang).

0263-8231/00/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 6 3 - 8 2 3 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 3 3 - 1
94 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

Fig. 1. Floor plan of an asymmetric shear-wall building.

their coupling in the governing equation of free vibration. In recent decades, a few
studies have been done on the coupled vibration analysis of asymmetric structures
[2–6]. The objective of this paper is to present a method of analysis for coupled
vibration of asymmetric multi-bent shear-wall structures. The analysis includes the
natural frequency and mode shape determinations for the coupled lateral deflections
(due to lateral flexure deformations) and torsional rotation (due to warping torsion
deformation) of the structures.
Based on the continuum technique and D’Alember’s principle, the governing dif-
ferential equation of an asymmetric shear-wall structure in free vibration and the
corresponding eigenvalue problem are derived. The governing equation includes a
set of the fourth-order partial differential equations for two laterally flexural
vibrations coupled with a warping torsional vibration. By employing the Galerkin
method, a method of solution is proposed for solving the eigenvalue equation of the
problem. A computation procedure is presented for determining the coupled natural
 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104 95

frequencies and associated vibration shapes of the structures. Comparison is made

between the results obtained from the proposed method and finite element analysis.
It is shown from the numerical investigation that the results of the proposed method
show good agreement with those of the FEM analysis. It is also shown that the
proposed analysis provides an efficient and accurate means for analysis of generally
asymmetric shear-wall buildings in coupled vibration.

2. Method of analysis

Consider an asymmetric shear-wall structure of height H shown in Fig. 1. In the

analysis, this multi-bent shear-wall structure is represented by an equivalent thin-
walled cantilever beam, [7] which is located at the centre of flexural rigidity, O.
[8] Under the action of lateral loads, the flexural-warping cantilever may undergo
deformations of both lateral flexure and warping torsion. [8,9] The vertical x-axis is
chosen over the structural height and through the centre of flexural rigidity, O. The
co-ordinate (yC, zC) represents the position of the geometric centre of the floor plan,
C, in the yOz co-ordinate system.
It is assumed that the structure has a uniformly distributed mass m, mass polar
moment of inertia mI, flexural stiffnesses EIy and EIz in y and z directions, respect-
ively, and warping torsion stiffness EIw along the structural height. Details of calcu-
lation of lateral and torsional stiffnesses and geometric properties are given in Appen-
dix A.

2.1. Governing differential equation

Let y(x,t) be the lateral deflection of the point O in y-direction, z(x,t) the one in
z-direction, and q(x,t) the torsional rotation of the floor plan about the point O at
the height x and time t. Based on the D’Alembert’s principle, [10] the governing
equation of natural vibration of a multi-bent shear-wall structure can be derived
conveniently by substituting inertial forces into the equations of static equilibrium,
given by
∂4X(x,t) ∂2X(x,t)
E ⫹M ⫽0 (1)
∂x4 0
∂t2
in which the displacement vector, flexural stiffness and mass metrics are

冦 冧
y(x,t)
X⫽ z(x,t) (2a)
q(x,t)
96 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

冢 冣
EIy 0 0
E⫽ 0 EIz 0 (2b)
0 0 EIw

冢 冣
1 0 −zC
M0⫽m 0 1 yC (2c)
−zC yC r2M

in which the inertial radius of gyration can be calculated by

冪
L2+B2 2 2
rm⫽ +yC+zC (3)
12
where L and B are the length and width of the floor plan as shown in Fig. 1.
As there are zero deflection and zero rotation at the fixed base, and zero moment
and zero resultant shear at the free top of the structure, the corresponding boundary
conditions of Eq. (1) for the flexural-warping cantilever are
∂X ∂ 2 X ∂3 X
X⫽ ⫽0 at x⫽0, and 2 ⫽ 3 ⫽0 at x⫽H (4)
∂x ∂x ∂x

2.2. Eigenvalue problem

It is assumed that the motion in free vibration at any point of the structural height
is simple harmonic and the deflected shapes are independent of the time. The dis-
placement vector X can then be expressed, in a separable form of variables x and
t, as
X(x,t)⫽U(u)sinwt (5)
where u=x/H is the non-dimensional height co-ordinate; w is the natural frequency;
and the mode shape vector is

冦 冧
y(u)
U(u)⫽ z(u) (6)
q(u)
 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104 97

Substituting Eq. (5) into Eq. (1) and carrying out the necessary differentiation
leads to the eigenvalue equation of asymmetric shear-wall structures in free vibration:
d 4U
E 4 ⫺w2M(u)⫽0 (7)
du
where the nominal mass matrix is

冢 冣
1 0 −zC
M⫽H M0⫽mH 0
4 4
1 yC . (8)
−zC yC r 2
m

The boundary conditions of the eigenvalue Eq. (7) are given by

dU d 2U d 3U
U⫽ ⫽0 at u⫽0, and 2 ⫽ 3 ⫽0 at u⫽1 (9)
du du du

2.3. Galerkin method

Based on the Galerkin technique, [10] a method of solution is proposed for solving
the eigenvalue problem given by Eq. (7). According to the principle of the Galerkin
method, a solution of the eigenvalue problem for a continuous structural system
can be expressed in a form of the linear combination for arbitrarily selected shape
functions v(u), w(u) and j(u):

冦 冧 冘冦 冧
y(u) a(i) (i)
y v (u)

U(u)⫽ z(u) ⫽ a(i) (i)

z w (u) (10)
i (i) (i)
q(u) a j (u)
q

where a(i) (i) (i)

y , az and aq are the indeterminate constants corresponding to the i-th
vibration mode.
When choosing the shape functions in the Galerkin method, there is no need to
satisfy differential equations which define the eigenvalue problem. But it is necessary
and sufficient to satisfy only the geometric boundary condition. Such functions are
classified as admissible functions. However, if both the geometric condition and
the dynamic equilibrium condition are satisfied, the chosen shape functions become
comparison functions, which will produce better results to the problem. [9]
98 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

2.4. Uncoupled vibration

The uncoupled natural frequencies of lateral flexure vibrations and warping torsion
vibration, represented by wy, wz and wq, can be determined from the solutions of the
well-known frequency equations: [11]
1⫹coshlpcoslp⫽0 (p⫽y,z,q) (11)
The solutions of Eq. (11) are given by Timoshenko [12] as follows:
l(1)=l(1)
y =lz =lq =1.875
(1) (1)

l(2)=l(2)
y =lz =lq =4.694
(2) (2)

l(3)=l(3)
y =lz =lq =7.855
(3) (3)
(12)
l(4)=l(4)
y =lz =lq =10.996
(4) (4)

l(i)=l(i) (i) (i)

冉 冊
y =lz =lq = i−
1
2
p (i=5,6,7,%,n,%)

The uncoupled natural frequencies can then be determined using

l2y l2z l2q
wy⫽ , wz⫽ , wq⫽ (13)
by bz bq
in which by, bz, and bq are the characteristic parameters, defined by
mH4 2 mH4 2 mH4 2
b2y ⫽ ,b⫽ ,b⫽ r (14)
EIy z EIz q EIw m

The corresponding natural mode shapes are determined by

冦 冧冦冧
q(i)(u) ay
z (u) ⫽ az p(i)(u)
(i)
(15)
q(i)(u) aq

where ay, az and aq are indeterminate constants, and p(i)(u) the non-normalised
shape functions,
coshl(i)+cosl(i)
p(i)(u)⫽coshl(i)u⫺cosl(i)u⫺ (sinhl(i)u⫺sinl(i)u) (16)
sinhl(i)+sinl(i)
 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104 99

2.5. Coupled vibration

By substituting the linear combination of comparison functions p(i)(u), given by

Eq. (16), into the differential equations defining the eigenvalue problem, expressed
by Eq. (7), and employing the virtual work principle, a set of linear homogeneous
equations for the i-th natural mode of coupled vibration is derived:

冢 冣冦 冧 冦冧
(i)
w2−w2y 0 −zCw2 a(i)
y 0
0 w −w yCw
2 2
z
2
a(i)
z ⫽ 0 (17)
−zCw 2
y Cw 2
r (w −w )
2
m
2 2
q a(i)
q 0

The solution of Eq. (17) consists of two parts: the eigenvalue and the eigenvector,
which correspond to the natural frequency w of coupled vibration and the vibration
mode shape, respectively. A method of analysis has been derived for estimate of the
natural frequencies and associated mode shapes of coupled lateral flexure-warping
torsion vibration of generally asymmetric shear-wall buildings.

3. Computation procedure

A procedure of computation for determining natural frequencies and associated

mode shapes of multi-bent shear-wall structures in coupled vibration is presented
as follows.
Step 1: Calculate lateral and torsional stiffnesses EIy, EIz, EIw using Eqs. (A1)
and (A2) in Appendix A, and geometric properties yC, zC, rm using Eqs. (A1), (A3)
and (3).
Step 2: Calculate the uncoupled frequencies wy(i), wz(i) and wq(i) using Eq. (13)
with the values of l(i) (i) (i)
y , lz and lq from Eq. (12) and the characteristic parameters
by, bz and bq from Eq. (14).
Step 3: Determine the coupled frequencies using

w2−w2y 0 −zCw2 (i)

0 w2−w2z yCw2 ⫽0 (18)

−zCw 2
yCw 2
r (w −w )
2
m
2 2
q

and the associated mode shapes using

100 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

冦冧
a(i)
yj
coshl(i)+cosl(i)
U(i) (i) (i) (i)
j (u)⫽ azj [coshl u⫺cosl u⫺ (sinhl(i)u⫺sinl(i)u)] (19)
sinhl(i)+sinl(i)
a(i)
qj

where the vibration mode number i=1,2,%,n,% and the vibration shape number
j=1,2,3; the constants a(i) (i) (i)
yj , azj and aqj satisfy the following relations:
2 2
a(i) w(i) a(i) yCw(i)
(i)⫽zC (i)2 (i)2, (i)⫽⫺ (i)2
yj j zj j
(20)
wj −wy aqj wj −w(i)
2
aqj z

It is seen from Eq. (18) that this equation is a cubic equation for coupled frequency
w2. In the i-th vibration mode, the solution of Eq. (18) will give three values of
coupled frequency: w(i)1 ⱕ w2 ⱕ w3(i). Each of the three frequencies for a given
(i)
(i)
mode wj corresponds to a particular pattern of vibration.

4. Numerical example

To validate and illustrate the proposed method of analysis and the computation
procedure, a numerical investigation is carried out for the coupled vibration analysis
of a multi-bent shear-wall building shown in Fig. 1. It is the structure of height H
= 75 m, consisting of 25 stories of 3 m-high, with the plan arrangement of L = B
= 24 m. The structure consists of eight walls of 0.25 m-thick and a = 6 m. An elastic
modulus E = 20×106 kN/m2 and the intensity of floor slabs r = 2,350 kg/m3 are
assumed for the concrete properties. The thickness of floor slab is 0.15 m. It is
required to determine the natural frequencies of the first three modes for the coupled
lateral flexure-warping torsion vibration, coupled lateral-torsional vibration w(1)j ,
w(2)
j , wj
(3)
(j =1,2,3), and the associated mode shapes.
Step 1: Moments of inertial of the walls are calculated and presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Lateral and torsional moments of inertial of wall

Wall i ȳi z̄i Iy,i (m4) Iz,i (m4) Iw,i (m6)

1 0 12 11.72×10⫺3 15.19 863.46

2 6 12 7.81×10⫺3 4.50 11.09
3 18 12 7.81×10⫺3 4.50 493.08
4 24 12 7.81×10⫺3 4.50 1220.07
5 3 0 4.50 7.81×10⫺3 1734.34
6 21 0 4.50 7.81×10⫺3 1735.60
7 3 24 4.50 7.81×10⫺3 86.06
8 19.5 24 36.00 15.63×10⫺3 689.43
⌺i 49.54 28.73 6833.13
 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104 101

Table 2
First three modes of natural frequencies of uncoupled vibration

Mode i bw(t) wy(i) wz(i) wq(␫)

1 1.875 2.392 1.821 2.128

2 4.694 14.987 11.413 13.339
3 7.855 41.965 31.957 37.349

The values of flexural and warping torsion stiffnesses of the walls are calculated
using Eqs. (A1) and (A2) in Appendix A, and given by
EIy⫽990.70⫻109N⫺m2
EIz⫽574.53⫻109N⫺m2
EIw⫽136,662.51⫻109N⫺m4
Using Eqs. (A3) and (3), the geometric properties of the structure are determined:
yC⫽4.463m, zC⫽⫺7.631m, r2m⫽174.150m2

Step 2: Using Eq. (14), the values of characteristic parameters are

by⫽1.470s, bz⫽1.931s, bq⫽1.652s
By employing Eq. (13), the uncoupled natural frequencies can then be determined
and listed in Table 2.
Step 3: The coupled natural frequencies can be determined by solving the cubical
Eq. (18) for each vibration mode. The results are shown in Table 3. Using Eq. (19)
and Eq. (20), the first three natural mode shapes of coupled vibration for the example
frame structure are determined and plotted in Fig. 2.
A finite element analysis for the first three modes of the example shear-wall build-
ing is also conducted by employing a comprehensive FEM computer programme for
analysis of building structures. [13] The results of two different methods are com-
pared in Table 4. It can be seen from Table 4 that the results obtained from the
proposed method and the finite element analysis are very close.

Table 3
First three modes of natural frequencies of coupled vibration

Mode i w1(i) w2(I) w3(␫)

1 1.622 2.004 3.843

2 10.163 12.556 24.083
3 28.457 35.156 67.432
102 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

Fig. 2. First three modes of coupled natural frequencies and associated mode shapes.
 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104 103

Table 4
Comparison of coupled frequencies of proposed method and FEM analysis

Coupled frequency w(i)

1 Proposed method FEM analysis

w1(1) 1.622 1.592

w2(1) 2.004 1.963
w3(1) 3.843 3.753
w1(2) 10.163 9.794
w2(2) 12.556 12.207
w3(2) 24.083 22.906
w1(3) 28.457 27.292
w2(3) 35.156 33.395
w3(3) 67.432 63.724

5. Conclusions

The natural vibration of an asymmetric shear-wall structure generally is a coupled

vibration: lateral flexure vibrations in two orthogonal directions are coupled with a
warping torsion vibration about the vertical axis. In the analysis, the asymmetric
shear-wall structure is replaced by an equivalent thin-walled cantilever beam with
lateral flexure and warping torsion deformations. Based on the D’Alembert’s prin-
ciple, the governing differential equation and associated eigenvalue problem for
asymmetric tall shear-wall buildings in coupled lateral flexure-warping torsion
vibration have been derived. The Galerkin method is applied to develop a method
of solution for solving the eigenvalue equation. Based on the proposed method, a
computation procedure is presented for determining the natural frequencies and asso-
ciated mode shapes of the structure in coupled vibration.
Coupled vibration analysis is carried out for an example asymmetric tall shear-
wall building. The results obtained from the proposed method show good agreement
with those of the finite element analysis. It is shown that the proposed method pro-
vides an efficient and accurate means for dynamic analysis of generally asymmetric
tall shear-wall structures in coupled vibration.

Appendix A

A generally asymmetric shear-wall structure shown in Fig. 1 can be represented

by an equivalent thin-walled cantilever beam, deforming in both lateral flexure and
warping torsion. The cantilever is located at the centre of flexural rigidity, O, whose
location in an arbitrarily selected co-ordinate system (ȳ, z̄) is given by

冘 ȳiEIz,i 冘 z̄iEIy,i
ȳO⫽
冘 , z̄0⫽
冘
i i
(A1)
EIz,i EIy,i
i i
104 J.S. Kuang, S.C. Ng / Thin-Walled Structures 38 (2000) 93–104

mwhere the co-ordinates (ȳi, z̄i) represent the location of the centre Oi of the i-th
wall in the (ȳi, z̄i) co-ordinate system.
The flexural stiffness and warping torsional stiffness of this equivalent cantil-
ever are

EIy⫽ 冘i
EIy,i, EIz⫽ 冘 i
EIz,i, (A2)

EIw⫽ 冘i
[(ȳj ⫺ȳO)2EIz,i⫹(z̄j ⫺z̄O)2EIy,i]

where EIy,i and EIz,i are the flexural stiffness in y and z directions of the i-th wall
in its local co-ordinate system.
The vertical axis x is chosen over the structural height and through the centre of
rigidity, O, and the axes y and z are respectively parallel to ȳ and z̄ as the reference
co-ordinate. The location of the geometric centre C of the uniform floor slabs in the
co-ordinate system yOz is given by
yC⫽ȳC⫺ȳO, zC⫽z̄C⫺z̄O (A3)
where the coordinate (ȳC, z̄C) is the location of point C in the co-ordinate system
ȳ, z̄).

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