Earthquake Response Characteristic of Steel Frame with Viscoelastic Damper

Abstract

Shaking table tests of a 1/3rd-scale three-story steel moment resisting frames with viscoelastic damper have been conducted to verify the evaluation method for earthquake response of buildings. The effect of added viscoelastic dampers on the maximum displacement and the story shear of steel frame are investigated. The input ground motion is an artificial earthquake with a target response spectrum prescribed in the current seismic code. Test results show that the viscoelastically-damped structure can achieve a significant reduction of earthquake response as compared to the case with no dampers. Analytical simulations were also conducted. The dynamic response of the steel frame with added viscoelastic damper could be evaluated using the Voigt model and the Maxwell type 5-element model.