Improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete frames using an innovative metallic-shear damper

In reinforced concrete (RC) frames, the applied seismic energy is dissipated through the ductile behavior of RC moment resisting frames. The main elements of the RC frames carry the gravity loads in addition to the seismic loads. Since the RC frames are sensitive to gravity loads, the ductility of the frames is reduced by increasing the gravity loads. Moreover, because of the low stiffness of the RC moment frames, huge member sizes of structural elements are required to control lateral drifts under lateral loading. In addition, the existing RC moment frame buildings with non-ductile characteristics pose a considerable hazard during earthquakes. To solve the mentioned problems, an innovative metallic damper with a shear link (metallic-passive energy damper) was developed in this paper. The proposed damper not only enjoys an easy fabrication and a good seismic performance but also can be easily replaced after a severe earthquake. Since the damper does not carry the gravity loads, replacing the damper does not affect the severability of the building during repairing. The main goal of this study is to confine the plastic deformation in the proposed damper. The numerical results indicated that the proposed damper improved the behavior of the RC frame in elastic and inelastic zones. It enhanced the shear capacity, shear stiffness, energy absorption, and ductility of the RC moment resisting frame. The results indicated that the proposed damper enhances the shear stiffness and the ultimate shear capacity from a minimum of 11% to a maximum of 24% and from a minimum of 11% to a maximum of 48%, respectively. Also, the proposed damper improved the yielding strength from a minimum of 53% to a maximum of 61%. Moreover, the dynamic analysis indicated that the damper improved the behavior of the system in the case of maximum lateral displacement and base shear. Based on the time-history dynamic analysis, dampers in the 5- and 10-story frames are more effective compared to the 15-story frame. This result confirms the suitable performance of the proposed damper. Herein the required equations and the recommendations for the design of the proposed metallic-shear damper have been presented.