EARTHQUAKE PROOF EFFICACY OF VELOCITY AND DISPLACEMENT DEPENDENT HYDRAULIC DAMPER (VDHD) FOR R.C. STRUCTURES

摘要

The objective of this research is to study whether a Velocity and Displacement Dependent Hydraulic Damper (VDHD) will provide effective damping without increasing the acceleration response of a reinforced concrete structure during an earthquake before the yield strength is reached. The study also includes whether this device will provide hysteretic energy after the yield strength is reached to effectively lower the structural displacement reaction. The efficiency of VDHD is confirmed using a nonlinear numerical model developed by the authors for carrying out numerical analyses of three dampers, i.e. Viscous Damper (VD), Bulking Resistant Bracing (BRB) and VDHD, to study the response of structures excited by earthquake and to compare model parameters based on their seismic performance. The results indicate that when a reinforced concrete structure is subject to near-fault earthquake for various durations, VDHD has a better structural displacement response capability than either VD or BRB with a medium efficiency to suppress the acceleration response between VD and BRB. These observations conform to the theoretical predications thus verifying the capability of VDHD to lower the displacement and acceleration responses of a reinforced concrete structure during earthquake. The results presented in this paper illustrate the earthquake resistant capacity of VDHD to protect reinforced concrete structures.