Book Description

This study developed the technical base for the design of shape-memory alloy energy dissipation devices for building structures by: (1) characterization of the basic materials behavior for the design of prototype shape-memory alloy (SMA or SMM) energy dissipators; (2) development of conceptual designs for SMA structural damping devices; (3) detailed analysis of the seismic response of a preselected nonductile concrete building with and without SMM energy dissipators under moderate earthquake shaking, and (4) parametric analyses of a reduced-order model of the pre-selected building upgraded with SMM energy dissipators possessing different hysteretic characteristics from that used for the detailed analysis. SMAs can be configured to provide a shape-memory effect (SME) or a superelastic effect (SEE); energy dissipation devices based on both SME and SEE were shown to be technically viable. Several prototype SMA energy dissipators were designed and one energy dissipator was fabricated. The vulnerability of one building typical of many in the DoD inventory was mitigated by adding SMA energy dissipators. (MM).