Seismic mitigation of building structural systems using passive dampers

This paper treats the seismic mitigation of medium rise frame-shear wall structures and building facade systems using passive damping devices. The frame shear wall structures have embedded viscoelastic and friction dampers in different configurations and placed in various locations in the structure. Influence of damper type, configuration and location are investigated. Results for tip deflections which provide an overall evaluation of the seismic response of the structure, are determined. Seismic mitigation of building facade systems in which visco-elastic dampers are fitted at the horizontal connections between the facades and the frame, instead of the traditional rigid connections, are also treated. Finite element techniques are used to model and analyse the two structural systems under different earthquake loadings, scaled to the same peak ground acceleration for meaningful comparison of responses. Results demonstrate the feasibility of these techniques for seismic mitigation.