SPECIAL ISSUE: SMART BUILDINGS: VISCOUS DAMPERS

It is a pleasure to present the fi rst annual damping issue. Therefore, the vision when this Journal was founded was to bridge the gap between research and design, and also to speed up the review process so that technology can be implemented as fast as possible. Many great papers have been received and published from around the world. Each year in the April issue of the Journal readers can look forward to a collection of excellent papers that are receiving special recognition for their ingenuity in the use of dampers.

In structural engineering, when approached from a scientifi c perspective most things can be followed and make sense. The addition of dampers into buildings makes technical and fi scal sense. Dampers placed in buildings ‘eat up’ the energy input to the building from the earthquake or wind loading. They reduce building inter-story drift and associated damage. They also reduce fl oor acceleration which can produce to the buildings occupants’ mental distress and damage to treasured contents.

The reality in earthquake, wind and structural engineering is that committed and brilliant engineers around the world are making at ever-increasing speeds, in our ability to accurately model loads on buildings and the buildings’ structural members. Therefore, dampers also have the added benefi t that they can be updated when technology creates better dampers. Also, we know that research will show us that our computer model/ing of loads or concrete/steel structural members can be improved or is seriously fl awed.

This special issue contains six papers. The introductory paper is written by this inaugural issue’s guest editor D. Taylor (2010). It describes the use of viscous dampers providing high damping levels within buildings.

Hart et al. (2010) present the evolution of the structural design of one of the tallest structures in the world, The Guangzhou Tower in China.

Chen et al. (2010) describe the seismic performance of the Wenchuan Hospital in China that consists of a four-storey reinforced concrete frame with viscous dampers.

Miyamoto et al. (2010) summarize the design approach for tall steel moment-frame structures with viscous dampers.

Xuewei and Xiaolei (2010) focus on the viscous dampers set in the two main towers and the top gallery of the HUBII-Sightseeing Gate in Guangzhou, China.

Hart et al. (2010) demonstrate in this Part I of a two-part paper how using viscous dampers signifi -cantly improves the performance of tall buildings.

Douglas TaylorSpecial Issue Guest Editor

President, Taylor Devices Inc.

Gary C. HartEditor, The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings Journal

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Correspondence to: Gary C. Hart, Weidlinger Associates Inc., 4551 Glencoe Avenue, Ste 350, Marina del Rey, 90292 CA, USA. E-mail: hart@wai.com

THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF TALL AND SPECIAL BUILDINGSStruct. Design Tall Spec. Build. 19, 367–368 (2010)Published online 20 April 2010 in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/tal.613

368

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Struct. Design Tall Spec. Build. 19, 367–368 (2010) DOI: 10.1002/tal

EDITORIAL

REFERENCES

Chen X-W, Li J-X, Cheang J. 2010. Seismic performance analysis of Wenchuan Hospital structure with viscous dampers. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 397–419.

Hart GC, Ekwueme CG, Brandow G, Barnes MG, Ozegbe K. 2010. High performance/smart and living buildings: the benefi ts of using Taylor dampers on the PEER and LATBSDC concrete 42 storey high-rise building (Part I). The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 457–477.

Hart GC, Jain A, Ekwueme CG. 2010. Smart buildings: viscous dampers. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 373–396.

Miyamoto HK, Gilani ASJ, Wada A, Ariyaratana C. 2010. Collapse risk of tall steel moment frame buildings with viscous dampers subjected to large earthquakes. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 421–438.

Taylor D. 2010. Smart buildings and viscous dampers—a design engineer’s perspective. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 369–372.

Xuewei C, Xiaolei H. 2010. Research summary on long-span connected tall building structure with viscous dampers. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 19(4): 439–456.