The stiffness of structural elements (columns, beams, and slabs) significantly contributes to the overall stiffness of reinforced concrete (RC) high-rise buildings (H.R.B.s) subjected to earthquake. In order to investigate what percentage each type of element contributes to the overall performance of an H.R.B. under seismic load, the stiffness of each type of element is reduced by 10% to 90%. A time history analysis by SAP2000 was performed on thirteen 3D models of 12-story RC buildings in order to illustrate the contribution of column stiffness and column cross sections (rectangular or square), building floor plans (square or rectangular), beam stiffness and slab stiffness, on building resistance to an earthquake. The stiffness of the columns contributed more than the beams and slabs to the earthquake resistance of H.R.B.s. Rectangular cross-section columns must be properly oriented in order for H.R.B.s and slender buildings to attain the maximum resistance against earthquakes.

Shear cracking behaviour of fibrous self-compacting concrete of normal and high strength grade (M30 and M70) is presented here. Two stirrup diameters (6mm Φ and 8 mm Φ) with a constant steel fiber content of 38 kg/m³ (0.5% by volume of concrete) were selected for the present study. The size of the beam was fixed at 100x200x1200mm. The clear span of the beam 1100 mm, was maintained throughout the study. A total of 16 shear-deficient beams were tested under three point loading. Two stirrup spacing (180 mm and 360 mm) are used for the shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d = 2). Investigation indicates that initial cracking load and ultimate load increased as the area of shear reinforcement increased by increasing the diameter of stirrup. It was also noted that the failure mode was modified from brittle shear failure to flexural-shear failure in the presence of fibers. The mechanical behaviour of SFRSCC was improved due to the combined effect of stirrups and steel fibers. The stiffness, toughness, and deflection of the beams increased when compared to SCC beams without fibers. The experimental results were compared with existing models available in literature, and the correlation is satisfactory.