A Next Generation of Damper Seismic Resilient Supertall and Megatall Buildings

Abstract eng:
The viscoelastic coupling damper (VCD) has emerged as a promising technology to enhance both the seismic resilience and the wind response of high-rise buildings. In this study the effectiveness of VCDs in enhancing the seismic resilience of supertall and megatall buildings is investigated for a 110-story, 630 m tall building designed using a non-prescriptive performance-based approach. The lateral load resisting system of the building is representative of modern supertall and megatall buildings. Three-dimensional nonlinear models are developed and time-history analyses are carried out under the service level earthquake (SLE), the design earthquake (DE), and the risk-targeted maximum considered earthquake (MCER) level ground motions. The VCDs are used in a damped outrigger configuration in combination with VCDs replacing coupling beams in the concrete core to maximize the effect of the added damping on the seismic performance of the structure. It is found that the VCDs result in significant reductions in all response indicators of the building throughout the building height. Over all three seismic hazard levels, VCDs result in 11–25% reductions in median peak inter-story drift ratios and 18–44% reductions in median peak floor accelerations compared with the conventional building. Subsequent financial loss and downtime analyses revealed that the design with the VCDs reduces the direct repair costs in the range of 30–78% over all three seismic hazard levels compared with the conventional building. For the conventional building, the downtimes for functional recovery are estimated to be 1, 5, and 12 months respectively for the SLE, DE and MCER level events. These downtimes are reduced by more than 45% after incorporating VCDs. Results of this study indicate that in addition to enhancing resilience of the building by reducing damage and downtime, the VCDs could also provide an opportunity to reduce up-front cost due to reductions in core wall shear forces and bending moments under MCER level ground motions.

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