Seismic response of adjacent buildings interconnected by viscous dampers considering soil-structure interaction

The effectiveness of fluid viscous dampers (FVDs) on dynamic response mitigation of coupled two adjacent structures was investigated, considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects under earthquake excitation. A numerical procedure was employed to evaluate system response. The finite elements were used for the numerical treatment of the adjacent buildings and soil region. Viscous boundary conditions were used as special non-reflecting boundaries on the edges of finite soil region. According to the results, the FVDs were found to be very effective for dynamic response mitigation of the adjacent buildings, even if considering the soil medium. The results showed that the most affecting parameter on the system response was found to be soil type. It was also concluded that when adjacent structures coupled by FVDs, the maximum values of the roof displacements, the base shear forces, and the base bending moments could decrease up to around 50%. Changing in lateral stiffness of the one building has minor effects on the effectiveness of viscous dampers.