Design of non-linear viscous dampers for a steel braced mock-up structure

The paper shows the application of a passive control system, composed by an almost rigid brace and a passive fluid viscous device, to the case of a 2:3 scaled 2-storey steel frame. Four dissipative chevron-type braces installed at the two floors, two for each floor, have been designed by applying an easy to use design procedure available in the literature and a design methodology proposed by the authors. The main results of dynamic characterization tests performed on the non-linear viscous dampers then mounted in the steel frame are shown, together with the outcome of a numerical investigation on the con-trolled mock-up structure.