Friction-based control system for seismic energy dissipation with isolated stories

Abstract

The implementation of various structural control systems, such as passive, semi-active or active is not a new concept. They are incorporated in structures to increase the performance under seismic and/or wind loading either by adding stiffness or inducing counteracting forces which dissipate energy in various ways. In order to efficiently dissipate the seismic energy with existing schemes, large structural displacements are required. However, structures that are most vulnerable to earthquakes such as low-rise relatively stiff buildings, cannot experience significant displacements. Therein lies the challenge the author attempts to address by proposing a structural scheme which can be applied to low-rise concrete buildings to efficiently dissipate seismic energy and at the same time to considerably decrease the forces in the structural members for a given seismic excitation. In this thesis the design of this new structural scheme is described and a case study is performed in order to demonstrate its effectiveness and applicability.