Theory and Experimentation on Passive Control of Adjacent Structures

The introduction of passive dissipative devices between two adjacent structures has been shown to be aviable method to protect both structures from seismic excitation. In this paper a shaking table experimentation is presented, which refers to a coupled structures configuration, that might be typically used in civil and industrial applications. The test structure is a 1:5 scaled coupled frames model. The first structure is a 240cm high, 4-story model with a total mass of about 500 kg; the second one is a 120cm high, 2-story model with a total mass of about 250 kg. The adjacent structures are connected by using elasto-plastic dissipative devices, placed at the second floor of the two buildings. The model undergoes different earthquakes, (Northridge, Kobe, El Centro and Hachinohe), of different intensity. The control performances of the passive devices are compared with the uncoupled and rigidly connected structures cases. The experimental data have been also used to identify and validate a numerical model of both the structures and the connecting devices.