STATE OF THE ART DESIGN OF STEEL MOMENT FRAME BUILDINGS WITH DAMPERS

Steel Special Moment Resisting Frames (SMRFs) with Viscous Damping Devices (VDDs) have been used for design of many buildings, resulting in a reliable and cost effective solution, with a high confidence level. The dampers serve to reduce the seismic demand and damage to structures. It is also anticipated that the design will have lower repair cost and shorter downtime following an earthquake. The cost-effectiveness and the anticipated superior performance of this system present an opportunity for a more widespread application. However, no comprehensive and rigorous analysis has been conducted to address several outstanding issues: the probabilistic assessment of performance, the realistic confidence levels, and correlation between the engineering data and hazard evaluation parameters including probable maximum loss (PML) and business interruptions (BI). It is proposed to address such issues in an upcoming research program.