EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE TESTS ON AN EXISTING STEEL MODEL STRUCTURE FOR SEISMIC MONITORING WITH HYSTERETIC DAMPERS INSTALLED

Abstract

An experimental assessment of the earthquake mitigation effect of hysteresis damper is presented in this paper. The monitoring and tests are based on a scaled 3-story steel frame model that was constructed in 1982. The earthquake response behavior of the model is investigated by use of substructure pseudo-dynamic test technique with various earthquake inputs, which were recorded by the sensors set in the site. The case studies considered in this paper offer great insight into the significant effect of hysteresis damper. Monitoring during natural earthquakes, numerical analysis based on a skeleton shift model, and pseudo-dynamic tests on the same model structure agree with each other fairly well. It is also demonstrated in this paper that the pseudo-dynamic test technique provides a satisfactory simulation of real structural response to earthquake ground motions.