Fibre-Based Nonlinear Viscous Damping Model Defined for Dynamic Analysis Using Distributed Plasticity Elements

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper presents a new nonlinear viscous damping model implemented in the fibre where a constitutive rule is defined between the strain rates and the damping stresses. This model is developed for nonlinear dynamic analyses using distributed plasticity frame elements with fibre cross-sections. The model is proportional to the initial stiffness of the fibre material, but the maximum damping stress is limited to avoid local and global high damping forces and prevent them from decaying or taking negative values when the structure is in the inelastic range. The manuscript details the formulation used to find the fibre strain rates, the damping forces at each level of the structure and its implementation using the Newmark method. The predictions of the model are compared with the real response of a reinforced concrete structure tested on a seismic table under high demands. Additionally, a numerical case study addressing the inelastic response of a steel structure and sensitivity analyses are presented.