Numerical verification of a dual system's seismic response

Structural control through integration of passive damping devices within the building structure has been increasingly implemented internationally in the last years and has proven to be a most promising strategy for earthquake safety. In the present paper an alternative configuration of an innovative energy dissipation mechanism that consists of slender tension only bracing members with closed loop and a hysteretic damper is investigated in its dynamic behavior. The implementation of the adaptable dual control system, ADCS, in frame structures enables a dual function of the component members, leading to two practically uncoupled systems, i.e., the primary frame, responsible for the normal vertical and horizontal forces and the closed bracing-damper mechanism, for the earthquake forces and the necessary energy dissipation. Three representative international earthquake motions of differing frequency contents, duration and peak ground acceleration have been considered for the numerical verification of the effectiveness and properties of the SDOF systems with the proposed ADCS-configuration. The control mechanism may result in significant energy dissipation, when the geometrical and mechanical properties, i.e., stiffness and yield force of the integrated damper, are predefined. An optimum damper ratio, DR, defined as the ratio of the stiffness to the yield force of the hysteretic damper, is proposed to be used along with the stiffness factor of the damper's- to the primary frame's stiffness, in order for the control mechanism to achieve high energy dissipation and at the same time to prevent any increase of the system's maximum base shear and relative displacements. The results are summarized in a preliminary design methodology for ADCS.