Layout optimization of multi-type dampers in structures under seismic excitation

Abstract Seismic performance is a critical consideration in the design of building structures to maintain its stability and strength. One effective approach to enhance this performance is the installation of dampers. However, traditional design methods often fail to achieve the optimal arrangement of dampers for improving seismic resilience. This paper presents an optimization method for determining the most effective layout of multi-type dampers based on bidirectional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO). The optimization objective is to minimize the maximum variance of inter-story drift across all floors, given a specified maximum number of each type of damper. To approximate the non-smooth objective function, the Kreisselmeier – Steinhauser (KS) function is incorporated. In addition, an efficient algorithm based on the pseudo excitation method (PEM) is introduced to calculate the frequency-domain stochastic seismic response of non-proportionally damped structures throughout the layout optimization process. Two frame structure examples are presented to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed method.