Vibration Control of Dynamically Similar Buildings Optimally Connected by Viscoelastic Dampers

Abstract

Recently, the construction of similar high-rise buildings has increased due to the increasing population. Moreover, due to space constraints, these structures are being built next to each other. When such tall buildings are located in high seismic zones, earthquake protection becomes essential. There have been many studies on vibration control by connecting dampers to adjacent dissimilar buildings. However, reviews with specific recommendations on damper connections to adjacent similar buildings are found to be scarce. This study aims to control the building vibration that is dynamically similar and adjacent to each other through damper connections. In this study, two adjacent ten-storied, dynamically similar RC buildings are considered. The buildings are modeled with shear frame and lumped mass for efficient yet straightforward analysis. The idealized shear buildings were connected with viscoelastic dampers using different damper configurations and then subjected to seven seismic ground motions. A numerical integration technique is used to obtain the seismic response, and a single objective particle swarm optimization technique is employed to optimize the position of dampers. The viscoelastic dampers provided at their optimal locations improved the seismic performance of coupled buildings in an economical way.