Efficiency of a simple approach to damper allocation in MDOF structures

A simple approach to the design of optimal damper configurations has recently been suggested. This practical method is designated simplified sequential search algorithm (SSSA). Although some comparisons showed that the efficiency of the SSSA is similar to that of more sophisticated methods, a more comprehensive investigation is needed in order to gain more insight into its effectiveness. In this study, the SSSA is applied to several regular building models with different natural periods, numbers of storeys, levels of added damping, and different ground motions. Only one type of passive energy dissipation device is considered: linear viscous dampers. It is concluded that, in the case of regular buildings, the SSSA will generally lead to efficient damper configurations, particularly for low-to-medium-rise buildings and for a number of dampers equal to or greater than 1.5–2 times the number of storeys. The resulting damper configurations are found to be sensitive to ground motion characteristics, especially for low levels of supplemental damping. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.