FURI | Spring 2019

Inducing Structural Stability by use of Dampeners on Structural Systems affected by Earthquakes

Structural systems often fail at the cost of livelihood of their inhabitants due to their inability to properly dampen seismic forces. The objective of this research project is to discover the optimum ratio between the size of a structural system and that structure’s dampening equipment by utilizing a modeling tool created in MATLAB. The computer-generated model is that of a shear building with a passive dampener attempting to negate the motion of the structure caused by the earthquake. The computer model has been verified and improved utilizing a real-life model composed of a structural model and a controllable shake table.