Comprehensive Analysis of Backstay Effect in Tall Buildings with Podiums and Basements

  • Unique Paper ID: 208844
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue: 4
  • PageNo: 3047-3055
  • Abstract:
  • Podium-tower systems with basements govern modern tall building design for parking and commercial needs, yet their seismic performance depends on stiffness variations and diaphragm behaviors that standard fixed-base models fail to capture accurately. The backstay effect emerges as a critical factor: stiff basement walls or podium slabs provide lateral bracing to the tower—like cables on a ship's mast—altering shear paths, inducing reversal at interfaces, and boosting overturning resistance. This comprehensive ETABS study analyzes seven models of a 105m, 25-story RC building, systematically varying basement embedment (0-2 levels), podium configurations (slabs alone or with shear walls), diaphragm flexibility, and stiffness reduction under IS 16700's upper-bound (0.5 modifier), lower-bound (0.15), and code-specified cracked conditions. Key results show notable shear reversal and force redistribution from core walls to frames in flexible diaphragms, with basements governing backstay action over podiums unless stiffened. These findings emphasize realistic modeling of floor stiffness and sensitivity analyses for rational, economical seismic design as per Indian and international codes.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{208844,
        author = {Faisal Chogle and Dr. Madhulika Sinha},
        title = {Comprehensive Analysis of Backstay Effect in Tall Buildings with Podiums and Basements},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {4},
        pages = {3047-3055},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=208844},
        abstract = {Podium-tower systems with basements govern modern tall building design for parking and commercial needs, yet their seismic performance depends on stiffness variations and diaphragm behaviors that standard fixed-base models fail to capture accurately. The backstay effect emerges as a critical factor: stiff basement walls or podium slabs provide lateral bracing to the tower—like cables on a ship's mast—altering shear paths, inducing reversal at interfaces, and boosting overturning resistance. This comprehensive ETABS study analyzes seven models of a 105m, 25-story RC building, systematically varying basement embedment (0-2 levels), podium configurations (slabs alone or with shear walls), diaphragm flexibility, and stiffness reduction under IS 16700's upper-bound (0.5 modifier), lower-bound (0.15), and code-specified cracked conditions. Key results show notable shear reversal and force redistribution from core walls to frames in flexible diaphragms, with basements governing backstay action over podiums unless stiffened. These findings emphasize realistic modeling of floor stiffness and sensitivity analyses for rational, economical seismic design as per Indian and international codes.},
        keywords = {Backstay Effect, Tall Buildings, Podium, Basements, Seismic Performance, Structural Modeling},
        month = {September},
        }

Cite This Article

Chogle, F., & Sinha, D. M. (2026). Comprehensive Analysis of Backstay Effect in Tall Buildings with Podiums and Basements. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 13(4), 3047–3055.

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