Estimation of cumulative deformation capacity for elasto-plastic dampers

Cumulative deformation capacity is one of the most important benchmark for the performances of elasto-plastic dampers within vibration-controlled buildings built in seismic areas. It is because this value is related deeply to the cumulative energy absorption capacity and lifetime of the dampers. However, estimating this value under random amplitude as seismic response is complicated, for they are affected by loading histories. In this paper, relationship between cumulative deformation capacities and loading histories of elasto-plastic brace dampers under random amplitudes are analyzed through the data of the past various experiments, and simple prediction methods are proposed and discussed.