Steel and Composite Structures
Volume 58, Number 2, 2026, pages 205-230
DOI: 10.12989/scs.2026.58.2.205
Bidirectional steel hysteretic column dampers for seismic retrofit of building structures
Sajjad Akbar , Mohammad Mahdi Javidan , Jinkoo Kim
Abstract
In this research, a new steel hysteretic damper for seismic retrofit of structures is proposed and its performance is evaluated. The damper consists of a circular hollow column section and bidirectional flexural fuse at each end, made of steel with reduced section, which can be installed beside existing columns of the structure to minimize interference with architectural functions. The bidirectional fuses act as flexural hinges to dissipate the seismic energy. The theoretical formulation and the design procedure based on plastic analysis are provided for the proposed damper, and the results are compared with a finite element analysis (FEA) model. To validate the applicability of the proposed damper in structural analysis, a macromodel of the damper is also developed and calibrated by the derived theoretical formulas. The results are compared with the FEA, and the effectiveness of the damper is further investigated by the seismic retrofit of a reinforced concrete structure. An optimization technique based on slime mould is used to find the optimal number of dampers and their location. The performance of the structure is evaluated in terms of interstory drift ratios, residual displacements, and dissipation of seismic energy. The results show that the drift ratios decreased by 39.5%, residual displacements by 56 %, and energy dissipation by the columns from 17% to 2%. The results suggest that the proposed damper can be used to effectively protect structures from seismic loads.
Key Words
bidirectional damper; seismic retrofit; slime mould algorithm; steel hysteretic dampers
Address
- Sajjad Akbar — Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea
- Mohammad Mahdi Javidan — Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea
- Jinkoo Kim — Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea
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