Seismic Behavior of Wood-framed Structures with Viscous Fluid Dampers

Abstract

The suitability of viscous fluid dampers for seismic protection of light-framed wood buildings is investigated in this paper. Nonlinear finite-element models of wood building components (shear wall) and systems (three-dimensional buildings) are developed and numerical analyses are performed to evaluate their response to seismic loading. For both the single wall and the building system, seismic protection is provided by installing viscous fluid dampers within the wall cavities. The results of the numerical analyses demonstrate the ability of fluid dampers to dissipate a significant portion of seismic input energy, reducing the inelastic strain energy demand on the wood framing system. In addition, the study revealed some important practical issues associated with implementation of fluid dampers within light wood-framed buildings.