Seismic behavior of viscously damped yielding frames under structural and damping uncertainties

This paper examines the sensitivity of the response of optimally damped frames to uncertainty in structural and damping properties. Viscous dampers are first optimally designed for given nominal properties of the retrofitted structures and a given ensemble of records for each structure. The behavior of the retrofitted structures (in terms of the maximum envelope peak inter-story drift) considering uncertainty in their properties as well as in the dampers' properties is then tested using Monte Carlo simulation. It is shown that the uncertainties lead to larger mean drifts than expected, and that some designs are more sensitive than others. The physical reasons for this behavior are discussed and some rules as to what designs are expected to be more sensitive are given.