Inelastic Response of Reinforced Concrete Structures with Viscoelastic Braces

摘要

The addition of viscoelastic braces in structures for vibration reduction wasproposed and implemented in the past decade in metal models or full-scale structures. Viscoelastic braces provide energy dissipation, while the structures remains by-and-large elastic. In reinforced concrete structures, the seismic response is by-and-large inelastic, which is often accompanied by permanent deformations and damage. The addition of viscoelastic dampers can dissipate energy at the early stages of cracking of the concrete elements and reduce the development of damage. However the addition of viscoelastic dampers may stiffen the structure unnecessarily producing increased inertial forces and base shears when subjected to seismic motion.