Simplified design procedure for frame buildings with viscoelastic or elastomeric structural dampers

A simplified design procedure (SDP) for preliminary seismic design of frame buildings with structural dampers is presented. The SDP uses elastic-static analysis and is applicable to structural dampers made from viscoelastic (VE) or high-damping elastomeric materials. The behaviour of typical VE materials and high-damping elastomeric materials is often non-linear, and the SDP idealizes these materials as linear VE materials. With this idealization, structures with VE or high-damping elastomeric dampers can be designed and analysed using methods based on linear VE theory. As an example, a retrofit design for a typical non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frame building using high-damping elastomeric dampers is developed using the SDP. To validate the SDP, results from non-linear dynamic time history analyses (NDTHA) are presented. Results from NDTHA demonstrate that the SDP estimates the seismic response with sufficient accuracy for design. It is shown that a non-ductile RC frame building can be retrofit with high-damping elastomeric dampers to remain essentially elastic under the design basis earthquake (DBE).