Seismic testing and performance analysis of “JETPACS” structure protected by pressurized fluid viscous damped braces

Selected results of the shaking table testing campaign and relevant interpretation analyses carried out, within the Research Project No. 7 of DPC-ReLUIS Executive Project 2005-2008, on the JETPACS steel structure equipped with dissipative braces incorporating Jarret pressurized fluid viscous spring-dampers, are presented in this paper. The characteristics of the test structure tested at the Structural and Material Testing Laboratory of the University of Basilicata, and the finite element model generated to perform the analytical enquiry, are initially described. Calibration of model parameters based on the results of the dynamic identification tests developed on the bare and protected structure, as well as on the spring-dampers, is then discussed. The design of the fluid viscous dissipaters adopted for this installation is also outlined. The set of 35 tests carried out is recapitulated, and the results of the most significant experiments, and the corresponding analytical simulations, are presented in detail. A formal performance-based assessment analysis, developed for the original and protected structure by combining test data and the results of a supplementary numerical enquiry developed by the finite element models of both layouts, is finally illustrated.