Energy response analysis of adjacent structures with polymer bumpers under seismic loadings

Abstract

Insufficient gap between adjacent buildings may lead serious poundings under seismic loadings. Installing polymer bumpers may decrease the pounding forces between colliding buildings, which can prevent column yielding from overlarge shearing forces. This article focuses on the analysis on energy responses of adjacent structures equipped with polymer bumpers. Based on a novel pounding analysis method, systematic comparisons of structural pounding performance are conducted and specific results are obtained and discussed. First, time history responses for pounding force, displacements, and yielding shearing forces in selected floors are calculated. Then, energy response analysis considering viscoelasticity of bumpers is investigated. Afterward, under different seismic waves, input energy response, pounding force procedures, and story displacements are studied and discussed. And finally, parametric studies on energy responses, including gaps, sizes, and viscoelasticity parameters, are carried out to investigate influence sensitiveness of bumper parameters. The results show that the novel viscoelastic pounding force model is effective in simulating and calculating adjacent structural pounding with polymer bumpers. Although, in many cases, viscoelasticity has little effect on pounding forces and energy response time histories, it still has certain influences on maximum values. And, equipping with polymer bumpers on adjacent buildings can decrease maximum pounding forces under all types of seismic waves, but pounding times and maximum displacements of stories increase after being equipped with bumpers. By comparing cases under different seismic waves, energy responses show sensitive characteristics to different earthquake waves. Besides, gaps, sizes of bumpers also have significant influence on energy performance. They affect peak yielding energy and peak damping energy significantly.