Strength Demand of Hysteretic Energy Dissipating Devices Alternative to Coupling Beams in High-Rise Buildings

Abstract

A Reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall system with coupling beams has been known as one of the most promising structural systems for high-rise buildings. However, significantly large flexural and/or shear stress demands induced in the coupling beams require special reinforcement details to avoid their undesirable brittle failure. In order to solve this problem, one of promising candidates is frictional hysteretic energy dissipating devices (HEDDs) as an alternative to the coupling beams. The introduction of frictional HEDDs into a RC shear wall system increases energy dissipation capacity and maintains the frame action after their yielding. This paper investigates the strength demands (specifically yield strength levels) with a maximum allowable ductility of frictional HEDDs based on comparative non-linear time-history analyses of a prototype RC shear wall system with traditional RC coupling beams and frictional HEDDs. Analysis results show that the RC shear wall systems coupled by frictional HEDDs with more than 50% yield strength of the RC coupling beams present better seismic performance compared to the RC shear wall systems with traditional RC coupling beams. This is due to the increased seismic energy dissipation capacity of the frictional HEDD. Also, it is found from the analysis results that the maximum allowable ductility demand of a frictional HEDD should increase as its yield strength decreases.

Keywords

• RC shear walls;
• Strength demand;
• Hysteretic Energy Dissipating Devices (HEDDs);
• Coupling beams;
• Frame action