ADAS dampers for the hazard protection of multi-storey buildings with glazing envelopes: a feasibility study

Glass facades are generally intended as static structural partitions in buildings, aimed to separate the occupants from the environment. In this regard, especially under the action of extreme design loads, they require specific design concepts voted to protect the building occupants. In this paper, following earlier research efforts, the potential of a design concept, involving the same facades to act as a distributed-Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) in multi-storey buildings, is assessed. Special mechanical connectors interposed at the interface between a given primary building and the glazing facade are investigated via accurate finite element (FE) models, under the action seismic and explosive loads. Both the global and local effects and the possible benefits due to additional Vibration Control Systems (VCSs) are hence numerically explored, giving evidence of the activation - once properly designed - of the feasibility of the so achieved distributed-TMD concept. Taking advantage of earlier studies, where viscoelastic dampers have been investigated, careful consideration is especially paid for of elasto-plastic VCSs, giving evidence of their response for the same case study building under several hazards. Parametric FE results are hence preliminary discussed, to assess the feasibility of the distributed-TMD concept, as a function of VCSs input features, as well as compared to viscous dampers.