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Variable stiffness smart structure systems to mitigate seismic induced building damages
Author(s) -
Duerr K.,
Tesfamariam S.,
Wickramasinghe V.,
Grewal A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
earthquake engineering and structural dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.218
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9845
pISSN - 0098-8847
DOI - 10.1002/eqe.2204
Subject(s) - retrofitting , seismic retrofit , structural engineering , stiffness , seismic hazard , engineering , variable (mathematics) , damages , civil engineering , reinforced concrete , mathematical analysis , mathematics , political science , law
SUMMARY Upgrading noncode conforming buildings to mitigate seismic induced damages is important in moderate to high seismic hazard regions. The damage, can be mitigated by using conventional (e.g. FRP wrapping) and emerging (e.g. smart structures) retrofit techniques. A model for the structure to be retrofitted should include relevant performance indicators. This paper proposes a variable stiffness smart structure device known as the Smart Spring to be integrated on building structures to mitigate seismic induced damage. The variable stiffness capability is of importance to structures that exhibit vertical (e.g. soft storey) irregularities and to meet different performance levels under seismic excitation. To demonstrate the utility of the proposed retrofitting technique, a four‐storey steel building is modelled in MATLAB and appropriate performance indicators are chosen. Various return period seismic hazards are generated from past earthquake event records to predict the structure's performance. The performance improvement because of the retrofitting of building structures using the variable stiffness device is presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.