Amplification System for Supplemental Damping Devices in Seismic Applications

Abstract

Seismic protection systems include the use of special passive devices to introduce supplemental damping into the structure. In building applications, passive devices are normally used in brace configurations and activated by a component of the structural drift. However, in applications where small elastic interstory displacements are expected, the conventional usage of such devices may not be suitable. Lever mechanisms, which amplify the displacements and velocities affecting the damping device, can be employed to overcome this deficiency. This work describes a displacement amplification device (DAD) based on a gear-type mechanism and connected in series with a fluid viscous damper (FVD). Laboratory test results are given here for a small-scale version of the DAD-FVD system. Potential implementations of this amplification system in civil structures are briefly described.