The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

On the analysis of structures with viscoelastic dampers

Inaudi, Jose A.; Zambrano, Alessandra; Kelly, James M.

UCB/EERC-93/06, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1993-08, 126 pages (520/I526/1994)

Tools for the analysis of structures with viscoelastic dampers are discussed in this report. Modeling aspects for the constitutive relations of linear viscoelastic materials are addressed, the concept of modal equations for viscoelastic structures is investigated, and an iterative technique for the computation of the response of viscoelastic structures is analyzed. An approximate technique for the analysis of structures with frequency-dependent storage and loss moduli is described and its accuracy is evaluated using tools of random vibrations. The energy dissipation in linear structures with viscoelastic dampers subjected to transient excitation is studied; bounds are obtained for the energy dissipation of structures subjected to transient loading; and the mean and standard deviation of the energy dissipation of linear structures during a finite-duration segment of stationary response is computed. Finally, some considerations on design of structures with viscoelastic structures and directions for further research are given.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-93-06.pdf (9 MB)