ABSTRACT
An alternative approach geared towards estimating damping coefficients in steel frame buildings is presented and assessed. The proposed methodology is conceptually intuitive and its implementation is straightforward. It arises from fundamental principles of structural dynamics and utilizes actual seismic recordings from instrumented buildings. The presented approach is most suitable for low- and mid-rise shear-type structures, wherein the first mode is predominant. The performance of this method is validated against experimental measurements retrieved from a shake table investigation conducted on a single-story steel frame model subjected to a suite of various low-amplitude ground motions. The estimated value of damping coefficient is implemented into numerical analyses, wherein the experimental model is idealized as a 1-DOF system. The results indicate that the proposed approach is very effective and well-suited for damping coefficient identification in the first-mode dominant steel frame structures under low-amplitude seismic excitations. Limitations of the present investigation are critically discussed.
