Application of Wall Dampers for Tall Buildings in Thailand

Abstract

The design of tall buildings with high slenderness often encountered with problems in control of lateral movement within limits due to its flexibility. Normally, roof displacement must not exceed 1/500 of the building's height according to DPT 1311-50 in case of wind load and story drift must not exceed 0.015 according to DPT 1301/1302-61 in case of earthquake load to guarantee the building stability and avoid cracking under service load. Wall dampers have been installed in many countries to resist the wind and earthquake load. A wall damper is a set of steel vane dip in viscous liquid. When the building moves sideways, the damping force is generated from the shear action between the vane and liquid. It is found to be effective in addition it is convenient to install and does not affect the aesthetics of the building. This research has studied the feasibility and efficiency of wall damper application for tall buildings in Thailand. Nonlinear time history analysis has been used to compare the efficiency and cost effectiveness of reducing lateral movement of the building between the installation of wall dampers and the size enlargement of columns and shear walls. The results from preliminary study reveal that the installation of the wall damper is another effective alternative to add energy dissipation properties to the structure and control the movement of the building.