One of the prevailing structural systems in high-rise buildings is the core-wall system. On the other hand, the existence of one or more underground stories causes the perimeter below-grade walls with the diaphragm of grade level to constitute of a very stiff box. In this case or a similar situation, during the lateral response of a tall building, underground perimeter walls and diaphragms that provide an increased lateral resistance relative to the core wall may introduce a prying action in the core that is called backstay effect. In this case, a rather great force is generated at the diaphragm of the grade-level, acting in a reverse direction to the lateral force on the core-wall system, and thus typically causes a reverse internal shear. In this research, in addition to review of the results of the preceding studies, an improved relationship is proposed for prediction of backstay force. The new proposed relationship takes into account the effect of foundation flexibility and is presented in a non-dimensional form. Furthermore, a specific range of the backstay force to lateral load ratio has been determined. And finally, it is shown that although all suggested formulas are valid in the elastic domain, yet with some changes in the initial considerations, they can be applied to some certain non-linear problems as well.

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