Development of Compact Damper Framing Systems for Seismic Protection of Structures

Abstract eng:
The effectiveness of damping devices for seismic protection of structures can be improved by installing the dampers in displacement amplification frames. This paper describes recently developed damper amplification frames that are compact while providing large amplification and thus large capacity to dissipate energy. One area of application of such frames is wood-framed buildings with soft ground stories. In the United States, such structures have been subject to major damage, and sometimes collapse, in large seismic events. The failure of such structures is typically dominated by damage in the ground story, which is significantly weaker than the upper stories due to the presence of large openings for storefront windows or vehicle access. Furthermore, such large openings are typically located asymmetrically relative to the center of mass, resulting in combined lateral and torsional motion of the structure. One approach to protecting these structures is to add a damping system to the flexible ground story. To preserve the large openings that are desirable for building owners, compact damper framing systems can be employed. Such frames are narrow relative to their height and provide high displacement amplification due to the geometry of the frame components. In this paper, two compact damper framing systems are examined relative to a third damper amplification framing system that is currently in use. Analytical studies are presented to examine the displacement amplification provided by each frame. The effectiveness of the frames is then evaluated for application to soft-story wood-framed buildings via numerical simulations of a four-story building with dampers installed in the ground story. Finally, experimental test results are presented for cyclic and seismic testing of the frames. The results of this comprehensive study demonstrate that the compact damper framing systems can be highly effective in providing seismic protection of buildings.

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