PSI - Issue 78

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 1126–1133

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of XX ANIDIS Conference organizers Keywords: Non-Structural Walls; Suspended Ceiling; Vertical Ground Motion; Vertical Floor Acceleration Demands. Abstract Non-structural components (NSCs) are highly susceptible to seismic damage, often driving major economic losses. This vulnerability is exacerbated in near-fault zones, where vertical ground motions can exceed horizontal components, challenging conventional NSC design approaches and amplifying safety risks. This study investigates how different non-structural wall configurations affect vertical floor acceleration demands and quantifies the corresponding demands on suspended ceilings. Linear time-history analyses were conducted on various structural models: (bare frame, full frame, two variants of masonry-wall-only frames, and one curtain-wall-only frame) using 65 strong vertical ground motions (>0.25 g). Computed PFA ᵥ /PGA ᵥ ratios show that masonry-wall only frames with walls on lower stories significantly amplify vertical accelerations on upper floors, with mid-story peaks exceeding 3.6 × ᵥ . In contrast, curtain-wall-only frame exhibits more uniform responses. Roof-level amplifications remain moderate (3.0 – 3.5 × ᵥ ) across all configurations. Notably, floor level responses exhibited up to 100% variability at different nodes on the same story highlighting the impact of irregular wall distributions. Suspended ceilings experienced, on average, 20% (84thpercentile) higher vertical accelerations than their supporting floor. Based on these findings, two recommendations are proposed: (1) A baseline vertical amplification factor of 3.00× ᵥ adjusted for wall configurations and floor location; (2) A 1.20 amplification ratio for estimating suspended ceiling accelerations relative to supporting floor. XX ANIDIS Conference Effects of Non-Structural Walls on Vertical Floor Acceleration Demands: A Case Study Irfan Ali a,b, *, Rola Assi a , Giovanni Muciaccia b a Départment of Construction Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milan, Italy

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-348-6584986 E-mail address: irfan.ali@mail.polimi.it

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of XX ANIDIS Conference organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.12.144