HYSTERETIC DISSIPATORS MADE OF ALUMINIUM AND STEEL: OPTIMAL DESIGN AND PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION TESTS

In this paper the optimal design of a dissipator made of aluminium and steel and principally subjected to shear forces and the preliminary results of the characterization tests are described. The device has been designed on the basis of an optimization procedure with the objective to maximize the energy dissipated in the device. The response of a 3D frame equipped with the device and subjected to 7 earthquakes compatible with the response spectrum of Eurocode 8 is shown. The optimal response obtained from the characterization tests exhibits a good dissipative behavior of the device, highlighted by a wide enough hysteresis cycle.