Abstract Summary
In this study the effects of an energy dissipation device in a real reinforced concrete building are presented. The investigated damper belongs to the passive energy dissipation systems and absorbs the seismic energy through yielding in bending and frictional forces occur in the metallic elements of the damper. It can be used on new or existing structures and can be easily adapted to the particular demands of structures. It can be installed in a variety of ways such as in single or X diagonal bracing in building frames. Moreover the use of this device may result in improving (i) the increase of stiffness (ii) the absorption of seismic energy, (iii) as well as control of the axial forces that are developed at the diagonal steel braces. The first step of this study is to present the dynamic response of this dampers, testing it experimentally under cyclic loading. Based on these experimental results, a numerical model has been created using 3D solid finite elements. The study is based to a set of systematic procedures for finite element model calibration and parametric evaluation that enable robust simulation of this damper under cyclic loading with high fidelity using explicit time-stepping time-history analysis methods. In addition, a real 2 stories reinforced concrete building, located in Greece, is used in this analyses. It is being analyzed using the pushover analysis and time history analysis, as regards three different cases, the initial pure r/c building without strengthening, the simple strengthening building with steel diagonal braces and the strengthening building with the investigated damper. The effects of each strengthening solution are presented, and from this comparison based to optimal design, further useful results are observed.
