application of magnetorheological dampers in improving the seismic performance of irregular structures against the effects of wind load variation due to climate change

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
M. Norouzi
P. Ghaderi
School if civil engineering, Iran university of science and technology
Abstract
Climate change has become one of humanity's greatest challenges. Rising temperatures, weather fluctuations, and especially changes in precipitation and wind patterns have profound impacts on infrastructure and urban structures. These changes not only increase the risk of natural disasters but also affect the design and construction of buildings. Therefore, the development of innovative solutions to enhance the seismic performance and resilience of these buildings, especially in regions susceptible to climate change, is crucial. This study examines the performance of an 8-story steel structure with geometric irregularity in its plan against the effects of climate change, focusing on wind loading under three different wind speed increase scenarios including:1-low 2-moderate, and 3-severe. To mitigate the negative effects of these changes on the seismic performance of the structure, magnetorheological damper was employed. The entire floor slabs of the structure were considered rigid. The modified Bouc-Wen method was used to indicate damper behavior in dynamic equations of the structure and two control scenarios including passive control and active control were considered. NatHaz online wind simulator data base was used for modeling wind loading on structure and the Simulink environment of MATLAB was used to model the structure equipped with a magnetorheological damper under wind loading.

The results indicated that a slight increase in wind speed led to an average increase of 35%, while a moderate increase resulted in over 60%, and a severe increase in wind speed caused more than a 100% rise in maximum displacement, drift, and base shear responses of structure. By adding magnetorheological damper to improve the negative effects of increased wind speed on the seismic performance of the structure, the damper was able to reduce the maximum displacement, drift, and base shear of the floor where it was installed by 14%, 32%, and 38% respectively in scenario (1), by 16%, 40%, and 32% respectively in scenario (2), and by 8%, 28%, and 29% respectively in scenario (3). This indicates that the damper effectively controlled the response of the floor it is installed on and was able to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. Furthermore, this damper not only positively affected the floor it was installed on but also improved the seismic response of the roof level, maintaining its effectiveness across all three climate change scenarios. Additionally, the results indicated that the damper performs better in active control mode compared to passive mode. However, the parameters related to maximum acceleration of the floor indicates a significant increase in the active control scenario, while in the passive control scenario, no significant changes were observed. The best results were achieved in the low and moderate wind speed increase scenarios. Although in the severe wind speed increase scenario, the damper maintained its effective performance. In conclusion, it can be said that the force generated by the magnetorheological damper has intelligent adjustability, which can change based on environmental conditions and loading. This feature allows structures to respond more quickly to sudden environmental changes and provides greater safety against damage caused by climatic conditions as well as enhancing the resilience of structures against adverse weather conditions.

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Modares Civil Engineering journal
Volume 25, Issue 6 - Serial Number 86
September and October 2025