Abstract
The increasingly demanding performance requirements trigger the development of new devices to eliminate the limitations concerning the post-earthquake performance of available seismic protection systems. The prerequisite for economical earthquake-resistant bridges is the structures’ capacity to absorb and dissipate a large amount of seismic energy. A widely considered strategy for enhancing this capacity is through the use of passive energy dissipation systems for seismic protection of structures. It has been known that majority of the available energy dissipation systems are non-usable after a major earthquake, which increases the risk of collapse during an aftershock. The focus of the current study is given to introduce a new type of passive energy dissipation device with a pending patent that is testified to have an improved energy dissipation capacity without suffering any damage while absorbing energy. Thus, the proposed damper does not require an immediate expensive replacement and keeps its operational capabilities and effectiveness during aftershocks. The paper presents the dynamic performance tests of the first full-scale prototype of the damper that eventually prove it to be a promising design with an improved energy dissipation capacity and stable behavior during and after the dynamic event.
Highlights
The history of damaging earthquakes worldwide evidences the vulnerability of humanity to the forces of nature
A reduction of seismic forces below the elastic level can be applied in design provided that an inelastic behavior in a properly designed structure will supply that structure with sufficient energy dissipation capacity so that it can sustain a severe earthquake without collapse
This inelastic action is usually designed to concentrate in conscientiously detailed critical regions of the bridge, usually in the end zones of piers
Summary
The history of damaging earthquakes worldwide evidences the vulnerability of humanity to the forces of nature. A reduction of seismic forces below the elastic level can be applied in design provided that an inelastic behavior in a properly designed structure will supply that structure with sufficient energy dissipation capacity so that it can sustain a severe earthquake without collapse. This inelastic action is usually designed to concentrate in conscientiously detailed critical regions of the bridge, usually in the end zones of piers. The dissipation of substantial amount of energy, realized by the inelastic action in these regions, is achieved at the expenses of significant damage to the structural member. Thereby, a repeated inelastic cycling will result in degradation in the hysteretic behavior of the critical regions
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