A case study for seismic dampers placed between non moment resisting steel frame structures and lateral resisting concrete cores

This paper presents the results of a case study carried out to verify the effectiveness, for the mitigation of the seismic effects, of placing viscous dampers so that they connect the corresponding storeys of two portions of the same building. The case study here developed regards an 18-storey building structure of about 2300 m2 of surface per floor which represents the enlargement of the existing city Hospital “C.A. Pizzardi” in Bologna, Italy. The structure is composed of a central non moment-resisting steel frame characterized by a small horizontal stiffness, which supports essentially the vertical actions, and two external lateral-resisting elements of reinforced concrete (concrete cores) which mainly support the horizontal loads.