HDR devices for the seismic protection of frame structures: Experimental results and numerical simulations

As part of a national research programme an experimental campaign was carried out on a real scale mock‐up consisting of a steel–concrete composite frame equipped with dissipative bracings, based on high damping rubber (HDR) devices. Free vibration tests, followed by force‐controlled and displacement‐controlled cyclic tests were performed. The experimental tests were aimed at studying the dynamic response of the coupled system in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of HDR devices in increasing the stiffness and dissipation capacity of the frame and investigating the ability of the constitutive HDR model proposed by the authors to predict the dynamic response of the coupled system. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.