Seismic Response Control of RC Structure using ViscoElastic Dampers

The study investigates the effect of ViscoElastic (VE) dampers on the overall increase in damping ratio of RCC structure significantly and hence improving the global performance of dynamically sensitive structures. A parametric study is carried out on the proposed Hospital building located at Delhi using VE dampers. The building is chosen such that it is a life line structure and located in a highly seismic prone zone. Finite element analysis was employed using the program ETABS version 9.7.2. In order to show the effectiveness of damper a comparative study on the lateral load resisting behavior between bare(without damper) and damped structures has been studied analytically. The brace type damping mechanism has been modeled as a linear spring and dash-pot in parallel for the ViscoElastic damper. The earthquake events used in this study has been applied as response spectrum acceleration. A number of analyses were carried out to gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of strategic damper placement in this structure to achieve maximum damping ratio. This study indicates that the dynamic characteristics of ViscoElastic damper have improved the damping ratio additionally by 2% when compared to RCC structure. The effectiveness of adding the ViscoElastic damper reduced the seismic response (drift, displacement, shear and overturning moment) of the structures to about 4 to 20% and control of seismic responses facilitates the optimum design of shear wall without increasing the size of walls by which the net floor area increases about 0.5%.