Seismic response of torsionally coupled building with passive and semi-active stiffness dampers

The seismic response of single-storey, one-way asymmetric building with passive and semi-active variable stiffness dampers is investigated. The governing equations of motion are derived based on the mathematical model of asymmetric building. The seismic response of the system is obtained by numerically solving the equations of motion using state-space method under different system parameters. The switching and resetting control laws are considered for the semi-active devices. The important parameters considered are eccentricity ratio of superstructure, uncoupled lateral time period and ratio of uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency. The effects of these parameters are investigated on peak lateral, torsional and edge displacements and accelerations as well as on damper control forces. The comparative performance is investigated for asymmetric building installed with passive stiffness and semi-active stiffness dampers. It is shown that the semi-active stiffness dampers reduce the earthquake-induced displacements and accelerations significantly as compared to passive stiffness dampers. Also, the effects of torsional coupling on effectiveness of passive dampers in reducing displacements and accelerations are found to be more significant to the variation of eccentricity as compared to semi-active stiffness dampers.