Simulation of structural vibrations using Voronoi-cell lattice models

Dynamic failure behaviors of quasi-brittle materials and structures have been simulated using the Voronoi-cell lattice model (VCLM) under various loading rates. However, such loadings are rather limited to monotonic or unidirectional loads. In this study, the VCLM is validated on the basis of structural vibration simulations via seismic excitations to explore more use-cases under arbitrary dynamic loads. In the validations, a shear wall with four openings is modeled using the irregular lattice geometry, and modal analyses are conducted to evaluate the performance of the lattice elements. As for the seismic analyses of a tall building, a three-dimensional model is discretized using the regular lattice arrangement. Then, the solutions are compared with those from the finite element analysis. The simulation results agree well with the reference results obtained using a commercial finite element program, ABAQUS. The effectiveness and stability of VCLM for dynamic analyses can be achieved for both regular and irregular types of lattice arrangements, enabling the application of VCLM for a variety of dynamic problems.