Building shock absorption technology: an innovative force safeguarding building safety

Building shock absorption technology, as an innovation of traditional seismic technology, is gradually becoming an important component of modern building safety.  It can not only protect people’s lives and safety, but also effectively protect the functionality of buildings and reduce the damage of earthquakes to buildings.

1、 Principles of Building Seismic Reduction Technology

Building seismic mitigation technology involves installing energy dissipation devices in certain parts of the building structure, such as supports, shear walls, connection joints, or connectors. These devices generate friction, bending (or shear, torsion), elastic-plastic (or viscoelastic) hysteresis deformation during earthquakes, thereby dissipating or absorbing the energy input into the structure.  This mechanism can reduce the seismic response of the main structure and avoid structural damage or collapse.

Shock absorption and energy dissipation components can be divided into energy dissipation supports, energy dissipation shear walls, energy dissipation nodes, and energy dissipation connections according to different forms.  Among them, dampers are the core units of shock absorption and energy dissipation components. According to different energy dissipation principles, dampers can be divided into velocity related, displacement related, and composite types.

  • Speed related dampers, such as viscous dampers, are based on the principle that the guide rod of a viscous fluid damper working together with the structure is subjected to force, which drives the piston to move and creates a pressure difference between the highly viscous damping medium on both sides of the piston. The damping medium passes through the damping hole to generate damping force.
  • Displacement related dampers, such as metal yield dampers and friction dampers, consume seismic energy through accumulated plastic deformation or friction.
  • Composite damper: It combines the characteristics of velocity related and displacement related dampers.

2、 Application of Building Seismic Reduction Technology

Building shock absorption technology is applicable to various scenarios, including high-rise and super high-rise buildings, high flexibility structures, large-span bridges, lifeline engineering, and reinforcement and renovation of existing buildings.  Especially in areas with frequent earthquakes, the application of shock absorption technology is particularly important.

  • High rise buildings: Due to their high structural height and flexibility, the effectiveness of seismic mitigation technology is particularly evident in high-rise buildings. By installing energy dissipation devices such as dampers, the impact of earthquakes on high-rise buildings can be significantly reduced.
  • Bridges: For large cross sea bridges and other structures, traditional seismic methods may not be able to meet the requirements. The application of seismic isolation technology, such as the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, effectively improves the seismic performance of the bridge by setting isolation layers on the top of the piers.
  • Reinforcement and renovation of old buildings: For old buildings, adding shock absorption and energy dissipation devices can improve their seismic resistance and reduce reinforcement costs without changing the original structure.

3、 Advantages of Building Seismic Reduction Technology

Compared with traditional seismic technology, building seismic reduction technology has significant advantages:

  • Safety: Shock absorption technology can significantly reduce the seismic response of structures, protect personnel’s life safety, and reduce building damage.
  • Economy: In areas with high seismic intensity, seismic reduction technology can save engineering costs. By reducing the demand for shear walls, structural section reinforcement, etc., building costs can be lowered.  In addition, shock absorption technology can also reduce post earthquake maintenance costs.
  • Technical rationality: Shock absorption technology is applicable to various types of structures, and as the height and flexibility of the structure increase, the shock absorption effect becomes more pronounced.

4、 The Development Trend of Building Seismic Reduction Technology

With the continuous popularization of earthquake resistance awareness and the advancement of technology, building seismic reduction technology will be more widely applied and developed.  In the future, shock absorption technology will pay more attention to the combination with intelligent and information technology to achieve more precise and efficient seismic protection.  Meanwhile, with the continuous emergence of new materials and processes, the performance and reliability of shock absorbers will also be further improved.

In short, as an important component of modern building safety, building shock absorption technology is providing strong guarantees for people’s life and property safety.  With the continuous advancement of technology and the expansion of its application scope, it is believed that shock absorption technology will play a more important role in the future.

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