Friction Dampers to Control Building Motionics

Means of dissipating energy in buildings oscillating due to seismic activity include viscous dampers, yielding of the structural members or of added sacrificial elements, and friction devices which slip when ground accelerations exceed a specified value. of these schemes,friction dampers bave proved to be the cheapest and least intrusive, and the most effective in minimizing structural and secondary damage as measured by the reduced accelerations and displacements. Development of reliable dampers with the desired characteristics has been pursued in Canada over the past two decades and today techniques are available to provide slip forces of up to 2500 kN with a slip travel of up to 300 mm. Overfifty buildings have been fitted or retrofitted with Pall friction dampers in North America.