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@article{199380,
        author = {SHWETA DWIVEDI and MANORAMA SINGH and ANUBHAV PANDEY and MIHIR PANDEY and DEEPAK PANDEY},
        title = {A Multi-Modal Seismic Assessment of Elevated Reinforced Concrete Water Tanks with Frame, Braced, and Shear Wall Staging Using ETABS},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {11},
        pages = {12806-12816},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=199380},
        abstract = {Elevated reinforced concrete (RC) water tanks occupy a critical position in civil infrastructure, serving simultaneously as everyday water supply utilities and as indispensable post-disaster resources when conventional distribution networks become inoperable. Unlike standard multi-storey frames, these structures concentrate a substantial proportion of their total mass at considerable height above the ground — a configuration that amplifies overturning demands, elongates the fundamental natural period when the support structure is compliant, and generates complex hydrodynamic forces within the liquid cargo during earthquake shaking.
The choice of staging — the structural assembly that transfers gravity, wind, and seismic loads from the container base to the foundation — is the most consequential design decision governing seismic performance. Three staging configurations currently dominate Indian practice: multi-column moment-resisting frames, diagonally braced frames, and hollow reinforced concrete shaft (shear wall) staging. Each confers a distinctly different lateral stiffness, natural period, and energy-absorption capacity on the overall system, yet no unified quantitative comparison of all three types within a single, consistent analytical framework has been published for the current generation of Indian seismic standards.
The present investigation addresses this gap by constructing geometrically equivalent three-dimensional finite element models of a 500 KL circular Intze-type elevated RC water tank on each of the three staging configurations within ETABS v20. Liquid-structure interaction is captured through the two-degree-of-freedom hydrodynamic mass analogue prescribed in IS 1893 (Part 2): 2014, which decomposes the total liquid into an impulsive fraction rigidly coupled to the vessel walls and a convective fraction representing low-frequency surface sloshing. Seismic demand is evaluated via both the Equivalent Static Method and the Response Spectrum Method in accordance with IS 1893 (Part 1): 2016, spanning Zones III, IV, and V on medium soil, for empty and full fill conditions.
Six engineering demand parameters are extracted and cross-compared: fundamental impulsive natural period, design base shear, peak lateral displacement, inter-storey drift ratio in the staging bays, base overturning moment, and critical member axial force. Results confirm that shear wall staging provides the highest lateral rigidity with minimal deformations but attracts the greatest seismic force; braced frame staging occupies an intermediate position in both stiffness and force demand; and moment frame staging admits the largest lateral excursions while mobilising the lowest inertial forces. These findings provide a quantitative basis for staging selection aligned with site-specific seismic hazard levels and structural performance objectives.},
        keywords = {Elevated RC water tank; seismic staging comparison; two-mass hydrodynamic model; ETABS analysis; equivalent static method; response spectrum method; base shear; lateral displacement; shear wall staging; braced frame staging.},
        month = {April},
        }