Research: Structural Dynamics

RESEARCH: STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS

• Devices are installed in buildings to dissipate energy during a seismic event

• New devices dissipate energy using different types of damping than traditional viscous damping

• The more energy is dissipated, the less energy in the system to damage the structure and its occupants

RISE Student: Anna Whittaker, Civil and Environmental Engineering Major, Class of 2015Research Mentor: Dr. Brian Phillips, UMD Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department

Destruction due to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

Objective: To create and model new devices to mitigate damage caused by earthquakes and impulses

RESEARCH: STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS

Our device concepts are modelled virtually in Simulink using structural dynamics

Device performance is compared to traditional devices like Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD’s)

RESEARCH: STRUCTURAL DYNAMICSExisting Devices

• Tuned Mass Dampers work well and cannot add energy to a system, so they cannot cause additional damage

• However, they must be tuned to the natural frequencies of the building, and can therefore become useless if they are damaged during a seismic event. They are also very large (see image).

• Devices that dissipate energy through impact work well and do not need to be tuned, but they could potentially be dangerous and cause more damage to the structure

Our Devices

• The devices we are working on dissipate energy nonlinearly and operate about as well as TMD’s

• Their mitigation capabilities are “tuned” using material stiffness and device geometry, so there is a much smaller chance that damage during a seismic event will hinder their performance

• They are active, meaning they can be adjusted during a seismic event according to performance feedback

The TMD in Taipei 101, Taiwan occupies 6 floors