Seismic Design and Performance of Reinforced Concrete Special Moment Resisting Frames with Wall Dampers

Energy dissipation devices, including viscous wall dampers (VWDs), are effective for enhancing the seismic performance of buildings. Use of VWDs can provide new design opportunities and expand the use of favorable structural systems such as reinforced concrete (RC) special moment resisting frames (SMRF) for taller buildings. The objective of this paper is to evaluate seismic design and performance of a prototype 15-story RC SMRF located in a seismic area in Turkey using VWDs and compare its response to conventional SMRF system. It is demonstrated that with VWDs, it is possible to design flexible SMRFs, satisfying the target performance objectives.