Study of a semi‐active stiffness damper under various earthquake inputs

Semi‐active stiffness damper (SASD) is one of many semi‐active control systems with the capability to mitigate the dynamic response using only a small amount of external power. The system consists of a hydraulic damper connected to the bracing frame in a selected story unit. In this paper, study of a SASD in two building models of five‐stories under four benchmark earthquake records is reported. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the control system against structure type and varying earthquake inputs. Various control laws are chosen to work with SASD, such as: resetting control, switching control, linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and modified LQR, and the results are compared with no control and passive control cases. Numerical results show that the use of a SASD is effective in reducing seismic responses. Control effectiveness is dependent on the type of structure and earthquake excitation. Passive control is less effective than other control cases as expected. Resetting control, switching control and LQR generally perform similarly in response reduction. While modified LQR is more efficient and robust compared with other control algorithms. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shake table tests on a mass eccentric model with base isolation

A mass eccentric structure is usually more seismically vulnerable than its concentric counterpart because of the coupled torsional–translational response of such structures. In this work, dynamic characteristics and response of a five‐storey benchmark model with moderate mass eccentricity were investigated using a shake table, simulating four different ground motions. The effectiveness of laminated rubber bearings (LRB) and lead‐core rubber bearings (LCRB) in protecting eccentric structures was examined and evaluated in relation to translational and torsional responses of the benchmark model. It was observed that both translational and torsional responses were significantly reduced with the addition of either a LRB or LCRB isolated system regardless of the nature of ground motion input. The LRB were identified to be more effective than LCRB in reducing model relative displacements, the relative torsional angle as well as accelerations, and therefore provided a better protection of the superstructure and its contents. On the other hand, LCRB rendered a smaller torsional angle and absolute displacement of the base isolation system, hence a more stable structural system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of viscoelastic damping on retrofitting seismic performance of asymmetric reinforced concrete structures

The primary purpose of this research is to improve the seismic response of a complex asymmetric tall structure using viscoelastic(VE) dampers. Asymmetric structures have detrimental effects on the seismic performance because such structures create abrupt changes in the stiffness or strength that may lead to undesirable stress concentrations at weak locations. Structural control devices are one of the effective ways to reduce seismic impacts, particularly in asymmetric structures. For passive vibration control of structures, VE dampers are considered among the most preferred devices for energy dissipation. Therefore, in this research, VE dampers are implemented at strategic locations in a realistic case study structure to increase the level of distributed damping without occupying significant architectural space and reducing earthquake vibrations in terms of story displacements(drifts) and other design forces. It has been concluded that the seismic response of the considered structure retrofitted with supplemental VE dampers corresponded well in controlling the displacement demands. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that seismic response in terms of interstory drifts was effectively mitigated with supplemental damping when added up to a certain level. Exceeding the supplemental damping from this level did not contribute to additional mitigation of the seismic response of the considered structure. In addition, it was found that the supplemental damping increased the total acceleration of the considered structure at all floor levels, which indicates that for irregular tall structures of this type, VE dampers were only a good retrofitting measure for earthquake induced interstory deformations and their use may not be suitable for acceleration sensitive structures. Overall, the research findings demonstrate how seismic hazards to these types of structures can be reduced by introducing additional damping into the structure.