Influences of the characteristics of a semi-active friction-type seismic protection systems in the seismic response of palanar reinforced concrete frame

The use of semi-active control devices to protect building from the occurrence of earthquakes have
received focused attention in the last decades as these systems combine characteristics from passive and
active control devices. The determination of the optimal parameters of a semi-active system, including
the number and position of the devices, depends on the characteristics of the protection system, the main
structural configuration and the seismic hazard. This research deals with the assessment of the influence
in the seismic response of planar reinforced concrete (PRC) frames of equipping it with proposed
friction-type semi-active dampers. The device is of variable damping, which has a passive reaction while
the ranges of displacements do not exceed the imposed limit to generate the operation of the active part
of the device. The active part has a function is used that allows to generate different frictional forces in
the device that depend on the displacements of the structure due to the earthquake. The function has a
minimum and maximum force that is exclusive of the capacity of the friction device. The assessment
criteria correspond to the number, position and properties of the devices. The state space formulation
for a shear-building configuration including semi-active dampers is reported and implemented in
Matlab. Six PRC frames are subjected to the ten earthquake signals corresponding to the seismic hazard
of Bucaramanga (Colombia).