Abstract Summary
In this research paper, the KDamper concept is extended and applied to multiple floors of exist-ing low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise building structures. Inspired by the concept of MTMDs, multiple EKDs (d-EKDs) are installed and distributed along the height of the structure, aiming to achieve seismic protection of the building in terms of accelerations, displacements, and base shear, without the need of introducing significant additional masses. The design and spatial al-location of the EKDs is based on a Harmony Search (HS) algorithm that provides optimal pa-rameters of the device based on constraints and limitations imposed by the structure, as well as constructability of the system. In addition, static and dynamic stability conditions are imposed in the optimization procedure, to ensure the stability of the examined structure, as the d-EKD concept introduces negative stiffness elements. A number of Eurocode 8 compatible accelero-grams are generated and introduced as input to the optimization process in order to obtain op-timal EKD parameters for the benchmark structure. Furthermore, the performance of the con-trolled buildings is assessed on a set of performance criteria for the dynamic responses, evalu-ated for a set of real earthquake records. Based on the numerical results obtained, the d-EKD concept, as compared to an optimally designed d-TMD concept, outperforms the d-TMD in re-ducing the structural dynamic responses, introducing one order of magnitude smaller added oscillating masses.
