FLUID VISCOUS DAMPERS USED FOR

SEISMIC ENERGY DISSIPATION IN STRUCTURES

Douglas Taylor1, Philippe Duflot2
1

Taylor Devices Inc, 90 Taylor drive, North Tonawanda,

NY 14120-0748, USA
2
Taylor Devices Europe, 18 rue J-B Vannypen,
Brussels 1160, Belgium

ABSTRACT
The new political climate at the end of the Cold War in 1990 caused a restructuring period
for the American defense industry. One of the results was that previously restricted military
technologies became available to the general public. Highly advanced products and services
suddenly appeared in the marketplace, seemingly out of nowhere. Perhaps the best known of
these is the now ubiquitous Internet, which in reality came from 1970's defense technology.
In the civil engineering field, high capacity fluid viscous dampers, used extensively in
military applications, have found commercial applications on buildings and bridges subjected
to seismic and/or wind storm inputs. Because fluid damping technology was proven
thoroughly reliable and robust through decades of Cold War usage, implementation on
commercial structures has taken place very quickly.
This presentation provides a brief overview of fluid damping technology with specific case
studies being provided from four of more than eighty major buildings and bridges now
equipped with fluid viscous dampers.
Keywords: Fluid viscous damper; damping technology; energy dissipation
INTRODUCTION TO FLUID VISCOUS DAMPER TECHNOLOGY
Damping is one of many different methods that have been proposed for allowing a structure
to achieve optimal performance when it is subjected to seismic, wind storm, blast or other
types of transient shock and vibration disturbances. Conventional approach would dictate
that the structure must inherently attenuate or dissipate the effects of transient inputs through
a combination of strength, flexibility, and deformability. The level of damping in a
conventional elastic structure is very low, and hence the amount of energy dissipated during
transient disturbances is also very low. During strong motions, such as earthquakes,
conventional structures usually deform well beyond their elastic limits, and eventually fail or
collapse. Therefore, most of the energy dissipated is absorbed by the structure itself through
localized damage as it fails.
The concept of supplemental dampers added to a structure assumes that much of the energy

input to the structure from a transient will be absorbed, not by the structure itself, but rather
by supplemental damping elements. An idealized damper would be of a form such that the
force being produced by the damper is of such a magnitude and function that the damper
forces do not increase overall stress in the structure. Properly implemented, an ideal damper
should be able to simultaneously reduce both stress and deflection in the structure.
Although the concept of large added-on fluid viscous dampers seemed viable, the normal
development cycle time to thoroughly test and implement the technology could be expected
to take many years. This is especially true when taking into consideration the traditionally
long approval cycles for incorporation of new technology into the building and bridge codes.
When the Cold War ended in 1990, it was revealed that several branches of the U.S. military
had been using large fluid viscous dampers for more than 35 years as part of their strategic
defense programs. More importantly, the manufacturers of these formerly classified
components were interested in transitioning the technology for civilian use. The question
was however : Can a fluid viscous damper, designed to protect missile silos and ships against
nuclear explosions, be used cost-effectively for earthquake protection? If so, then the
technology could be quickly implemented, since the products were already in production.
For example, Figure 1 is a declassified photo, circa 1961, of a test on a 200 tonnes force fluid
viscous damper built for the U.S. Air Force. The use of the damper was on the base isolation
system for the Atlas Ballistic Missile, based within an underground launch silo. Dampers of
this type were produced in many different forces and deflections for use by the U.S. Army,
Navy and Air Force. In this context, demonstration of the benefits of damping technology on
civilian structures could take place immediately, using existing dampers and the seismic test
facilities already available at U.S. university research centers.

Figure 1: Test for 200 tonnes damper for US Air Force (1961)

The application of fluid viscous dampers as part of seismic energy dissipation systems was
experimentally and analytically studied. Fluid damping technology was validated by
extensive testing on one-sixth to one-half scale building and bridge models in the period
1990-1993. Testing took place at the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research (MCEER), located on the campus of the State University of New York at Buffalo in
USA. The damper design subjected to test had seen extensive military use on diversified
military projects, including the Atlas, Peacekeeper (MX) and Tomahawk Missiles, and the
B-2 Stealth Bomber.
The effects of added supplemental fluid damping in a structure subjected to earthquake
transients is depicted in the test results provided in Figures 2 and 3. The test results used the
1940 El Centro earthquake transient as a test input. The structure was a single story, steel
building frame, using steel moment frame connections. Figure 2 shows the response of the
test structure under a scaled input of 33% of the 1940 El Centro earthquake. Note the small
hysteresis loop revealing that the test structure was at the onset of yield. Structural damping
in the frame was in the 12% range. In comparison, Figure 3 is the same structure with
20% added damping, obtained by the addition of two small linear fluid viscous dampers
installed as diagonal brace elements. The large energy dissipation of added damping is
readily apparent in the oval damping curve superimposed over the structural spring rate
curve. Note also that the input in Figure 3 is the full 100% El Centro earthquake and yet base
shear and deflection of the frame are virtually unchanged from the undamped case of Figure
2. Thus, the addition, in this case, of 20% added linear damping to the structure increased its
earthquake resistance by a factor of 3, compared to that of the same structure without added
damping. What it is however most important to note is that this threefold performance
improvement was obtained without increasing the stress or deflection in the structure. In
fact, it is this tremendous performance improvement that has caused much of the interest in
fluid viscous dampers for structural engineering use.

Figure 2 : One-story structure, no dampers El Centro 33,3%

Figure 3 : One-story structure, two dampers El Centro 100%

When test reports were first published by the U.S. National Earthquake Research Center at
Buffalo, they included tests showing similar performance gains with all other notable
earthquakes for which transient records were available. Full scale implementation began
shortly after this first report was published.
Additional testing revealed that fluid viscous dampers were also well suited to improve the
performance of structures subjected to high velocity wind storms. Of course, since these
products have been used previously by the U.S. military to attenuate weapons detonations,
the ability of fluid viscous dampers to improve structural resistance to blast was already well
understood.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FLUID VISCOUS DAMPERS
Fluid viscous dampers operate on the principle of fluid flow through orifices. A stainless
steel piston travels through chambers that are filled with silicone oil. The silicone oil is inert,
non flammable, non toxic and stable for extremely long periods of time. The pressure
difference between the two chambers cause silicone oil to flow through an orifice in the
piston head and seismic energy is transformed into heat, which dissipates into the
atmosphere. The force/velocity relationship for this kind of damper can be characterized as F
= C.V where F is the output force, V the relative velocity across the damper, C is the
damping coefficient and is a constant exponent which is usually a value between 0,3 and
1,0. Fluid viscous dampers can operate over temperature fluctuations ranging from 40C to
+70C. The orifice construction utilized is similar to that in the classified application for the
U.S. Air Force B-2 Stealth Bomber and is considered state of the art [1].
Fluid viscous dampers have the unique ability to simultaneously reduce both stress and
deflection within a structure subjected to a transient. This is because a fluid viscous damper
varies its force only with velocity, which provides a response that is inherently out-of-phase
with stresses due to flexing of the structure.

PROJECT EXAMPLES
The tested performance of structures with fluid viscous dampers showed that tremendous
gains in performance could be realized at relatively low cost. Thus, implementation of fluid
damping technology began relatively swiftly, with wind protection usage beginning in 1993,
and seismic protection usage beginning in 1995. Today, more than eighty major structures
are using fluid viscous dampers to obtain enhanced performance during seismic or wind
excitation. Four of these projects are described here, selected for their diversity.
The Arrowhead Regional Medical Center at Colton, California
This project was the first application for fluid viscous dampers in the seismic protection field.
The five buildings of this complex use a total of 186 dampers, each being rated at 145 tonnes
force.
The dampers are used to dissipate seismic energy, and are installed in systems parallel with
rubber base isolation bearings. The 79.000 square meter medical center is located in San
Bernardino County, between the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino. The location is within
8 km of the San Andreas Fault, and 10 km of an intersecting fault. The location of the
medical center was determined by available Federal Government funding, provided with a
requirement that the hospital complex be located between the two cities noted, and with a
very easy access.
The original design concept from the projects engineering team utilized only base isolation
bearings, manufactured from so-called high damping rubber. However, the near fault
location generated site transients in the 1,4 m/s range, requiring that the bearings provide
deflection in excess of plus or minus 1,5 meters! No rubber base isolation bearing of this size
had ever been fabricated. Of course, the large deflection also required that new technology
be created with respect to accommodating seismic displacements at utility connections,
parking ramps, access walkways, etc.
In an attempt to reduce deflections, the project team evaluated the improvements from adding
dampers in parallel with the base isolation bearings The design group investigated adding
37% fluid damping to the 8% damping expected from the rubber bearings, for a total
damping level of 45% critical. Higher damping levels were found to cause decreased
deflections, but higher stress, so the 45% damping level was considered as optimal for both
stress and deflection. The use of the fluid viscous dampers allowed bearing displacement to
be reduced to only plus or minus 0,6 meters, a reduction so substantial that the project goals
could be accomplished economically. One of these goals was to produce the most seismic
resistant civilian structure in the world, and this was achieved easily with fluid viscous
dampers.. A fluid viscous damper with nonlinear damping of F = CV 0,4 was selected for use
in the project. An additional advantage of the fluid viscous dampers was that the long period
rubber bearings and fluid viscous dampers would be able to fully reset the building after a
seismic event with no permanent offset. A photograph of a typical damper at this facility is
provided as Figure 4. Each damper is 4,3 meters in length and weighs nearly 1500 kg.
The San Francisco Civic Center Office Building
Those who are familiar with seismic designs in San Francisco will agree that this historic city
is literally the home of the braced steel seismic resistant frame. When the 1994 Northridge,
California earthquake revealed problems with steel moment frames, one would normally
anticipate the desire for braced frames to become even stronger. One can then imagine the
surprise within the structural engineering community during 1996, when erection began on
the 14-story San Francisco Civic Center office building. This 75.000 square meter structure

combined 292 fluid viscous dampers with the so-called post-Northridge moment frame to
optimize performance while maintaining a cost-effective project budget. Two different
damper force levels were used by the engineer, of 100 tonnes and 55 tonnes force. All
dampers were plus or minus 100 mm stroke. The dampers were used in diagonal brace
elements, with a bolted flange connection to attach dampers to their brace extenders. The
piston rod end of the damper incorporated a clevis with spherical bearing, as did the opposite
end of the brace extenders. The dampers were supplied with building attachment clevises,
which consisted of simple tang plates that were bolted to a gusset plate at the buildings beam
to column connections. Low exponent damping in the V0,4 range was selected, combined
with a building frame that can provide extensive inelastic deformation. The use of low
exponent damping tended to limit damper forces if the frame was loaded into the inelastic
range by an earthquake greater than magnitude 8. A photograph of the building during
construction is provided as Figure 5, the dampers being in the diagonal brace elements.
The Hotel Woodland Woodland, California
This historic 4-story vintage structure is in the U.S. Federal Registry of National Historic
Landmarks. The building is constructed from non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC),
consisting of an RC frame at the ground level, and RC shear walls at levels 1, 2 and 3. This
type of structure is generally identified as having a soft first story. The owner wished to
convert the building into office space, and elected to upgrade the seismic resistance. A
simplistic approach would be to add external shear walls, but of course this would essentially
eliminate the historic exterior of the building.
An extensive structural analysis was performed, looking at potential improvement areas. The
most promising solution was to add fluid viscous dampers to the first story of the structure.
To accomplish this, steel moment frames were added to the first story to provide stiffness and
strength, which the existing lightly reinforced concrete columns did not have.
Chevron bracing was added to install the dampers, allowing damper loads to be limited to the
horizontal plane only, the dampers being mounted parallel to the floors. A total of sixteen
dampers was used, with two dampers in each chevron brace. Each damper was rated at 45
tonnes output force, with available displacement of plus or minus 50 mm. Figure 6 shows the
damper installation.
The Pacific Northwest Baseball Stadium-Seattle, Washington
This major league baseball park opened during the 1999 season and features a three-section
retractable roof of steel truss construction. When fully extended, the roof measures 192m x
200m, is 64m in height and weighs 11.000 tonnes.
Potential inputs to the roof include Zone 4 seismic transients and high winds. Added fluid
damping was selected at an early stage of the design process to reduce lateral seismic and
wind loads to the roof. The reduced loading from the damped structure reportedly provided a
net savings of $4,2 million on the project. Additional dampers were added between roof
sections to eliminate the potential for longitudinal pounding damage. The latter application
proved mundane, using virtually off-shelf dampers in the 900 kN-1800 kN range. The use of
dampers in the lateral direction proved much more difficult, since the only available
mounting point was to use large dampers in diagonal braces between the column and roof
trusses. The dampers were located relatively close to the intersection of these two structural
elements and available mounting regions dictated that a total of only eight dampers could be
used. These eight were required to reduce both stress and deflection in the 11.000 tonnes
roof, requiring that each damper be capable of 4.900 kN output under maximum credible

earthquake conditions with plus or minus 380 mm deflection. The design was made much
more difficult due to the 7 m required pin to pin length for the dampers, coupled with a
restriction from the architect that would not permit a conventional flange connection between
damper and the extender. The damper design was further restricted by the architect with a
requirement that there be no more than a 25% diameter change at any point along the entire
length of the device.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of fluid viscous dampers for seismic and wind protection of commercial and public
structures began in the 1990's. Implementation has occurred rapidly, compared with other
technologies. This is due largely to the widespread use of these products on Cold War era
defense and military programs. When the Cold War ended, much of the fluid viscous
damper technology was declassified and transitioned to the public for commercial use. These
were proven through extensive testing and widespread use throughout the military and
defense sector.
When fluid viscous dampers are used for seismic or wind protection, the end result is a
predictable reduction of both stress and deflection in the structure. Indeed, this simultaneous
stress and deflection reduction is unique to fluid viscous dampers. Optimal performance is
dependent on the type of structure and the level of performance required.
Today, more than one hundred major buildings and bridges are using fluid viscous dampers
as a primary seismic or windstorm design element. Damper sizes being used range from as
little as 5 tonnes force to more than 900 tonnes force, with deflections as low as 5 mm and as
high as 1,5 meters. Indeed, it can be said that the use of supplemental fluid viscous dampers
will be one of the primary solutions for seismic and wind protection in the structures of the
21st century, or in the more succinct form quoted by one California structural engineer :
When in doubt damp it out.
REFERENCES
1.
Constantinou, M.C., Symans, M.D. Experimental and analytical investigation of
seismic response of structures with supplemental fluid viscous dampers. In: Technical
Report NCEER-92-0032, National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research,
Buffalo, New York, 1992.

Figure 4 : Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

Damper installation

Figure 5: San Francisco Civic Center.

Damper installation

Figure 6: Installation

of dampers
Hotel Woodland

Figure 7: Damper

installation at the
Pacific Northwest Baseball Stadium