EACS 2016 Paper No. 120 (113)
In this paper, a practical design solution for more efficient design of friction-based passive control systems is suggested, by considering the selected design earthquakes. In general, the effectiveness of the friction-based supplemental dampers is limited to a narrow range of slip loads. In addition, height-wise slip load distribution pattern can notably affect the overall seismic performance of the structures controlled with friction devices. In this study, the efficiencies of five different height-wise slip load distribution patterns for friction-based passive dampers are first compared; and accordingly, a practical solution for slip load distribution is proposed. The studied system consists of a non-structural concrete panel with a friction connection at the top and three more peripheral supports to provide appropriate boundary condition for the concrete wall panel. To assess the effectiveness of the supplemental friction wall system, extensive nonlinear dynamic analyses have been conducted on 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20-storey RC frames subjected to seven real and synthetic spectrum compatible earthquakes. Subsequently, an empirical equation is suggested to design RC frames with friction wall dampers. The preliminary results show that using the proposed equation can significantly improve the seismic performance of the controlled structures.