Seismic response analysis of structures with velocity-dependent dampers

This paper is concerned with seismic response analysis of structures with velocity-dependent passive energy dissipation devices, such as viscous and viscoelastic dampers. The modeling of a damper–brace component composed of a viscous or viscoelastic damper connecting with braces in series is presented. Several key parameters influencing the energy dissipation efficiency of such dampers in the damper–brace component are investigated and the relationships of the parameters and efficiency of the dampers are established. An equivalent model for the passive energy dissipation system is developed, which can significantly simplify the dynamic analysis of structures with the velocity-dependent dampers. The seismic responses of a single-story structure and a multi-story structure with the viscous and viscoelastic dampers are analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the passive energy dissipation devices for suppression of dynamic responses of structures and the reliability of the proposed simplified computational methods.