Innovative Frictional Damping Devices and their Implementation as a Retrofit System for Existing Industrial Buildings

Synopsis

Presentation 1: DoubleDamp: a bidirectional friction damper for the seismic retrofit of precast RC structures.

Precast Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures with poor connections and reinforcement detailing often face a significant seismic risk. The need for structural connection improvement and minimally invasive energy dissipation devices in such structures, brought to the concept of dissipative beam-to-column joints, meeting both requirements in one device. The presentation shows the conceptualisation, prototyping, mechanical and numerical definition of an innovative bidirectional rotational friction damper called DoubleDamp. The results show that such a system can effectively improve a precast RC structure’s behaviour during seismic events with good and steady hysteresis cycles.

Presentation 2: Sliding Keys on Inclined Deflecting-cantilevers (SKID) device for application within Post-Tensioned (PT) frames

This talk discusses a novel SKID device proposed for application within PT frames. The SKID device features no activation threshold, thus preserving the inherent self-centring capability of the PT frames. It provides additional damping and 'post-yield' stiffness for seismic protection. Its mechanical schematisation is discussed and physically demonstrated by eight 1/4 scaled specimens. Then, its application in the PT frames is presented. The seismic performance of the PT-SKID frames is investigated, with a highlight on the self-centring feature. Finally, a Direct-Displacement Based Design (DDBD) procedure with a correction factor is proposed for the PT-SKID frames.

About the speakers

Eleonora Grossi

Eleonora Grossi holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Ferrara (Italy) and will complete her PhD in Engineering Science at the University of Ferrara in late spring 2024. Her doctoral research focused on developing a damping system for the seismic protection of precast RC buildings, combining concepts of tribology, mechanical design, and numerical analysis. Eleonora is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Engineering Department of the University of Ferrara.

Yichen Zhang

Yichen Zhang is a research associate at the University of Bristol. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering (Bristol). His research interests are in earthquake engineering and structural dynamics. He is currently involved in the LASSIE project, focusing on the residual displacement reduction design of a low-cost isolation system.

Registration

In person attendance

The event will be held in-person at the Pugsley Lecture Theatre, Queens Building in Bristol (see map below). Prior registration is not required. Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis. We encourage everyone to attend in person if they can. 

Online attendance

The event is open to all and is free to attend. Please join the meeting via Teams^* by clicking on this link.

Further information

The talk is organised by SECED Young Members. For further information, please contact Evangelos Yfantidis (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

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