Damped rigid substructure system for seismic protection of structures

Building codes commonly accept inelastic deformations that inevitably occur due to seismic excursions in structures. To control the damage, limits on the inelastic deformations have been established. Standard passive energy dissipation systems have been used to reduce the damage, generally with some effectiveness. The damped rigid substructure (DRS) passive damping system, proposed in this article, geometrically amplifies the damper displacements and exerts a re-centering force, leading to effective discharge of the seismic energy to the extent that structural damage can be prevented. This is achieved using common damped and undamped diagonals arranged per implementation and design principles introduced in this article. The DRS system can considerably reduce material consumption and construction costs, leading to more sustainable structures when seismic forces govern the design. It can also benefit from the usage of high-strength materials to enhance its re-centering mechanism. The system is adaptable to the architectural needs and can be used for all categories of importance and height variation, made of steel or concrete.