Passive Variable Friction Damper for Increased Structural Resilience to Multi-Hazard Excitations

Structural control systems, including passive, semi-active and active damping systems, are used to increase structural resilience to multi-hazard excitations. While semi-active and active damping systems have been investigated for the mitigation of multi-hazard excitations, their requirement for real-time controllers and power availability limit their usefulness. This work proposes the use of a newly developed passive variable friction device for the mitigation of multi-hazard events. This passive variable friction device, when installed in a structure, is capable of mitigating different hazards from wind and ground motions. In wind events, the device ensures serviceability, while during earthquake events, the device reduces the building’s inter-story drift to maintain strength-based motion requirements. Results show that the passive variable friction device performs better than a traditional friction damper during a seismic event while not compromising any performance during wind events.