A course in the Berkeley Summer Engineering Institute 2001 Energy dissipation devices are increasingly proving invaluable tools for enhancing the seismic protection of new and retrofitted buildings. A wide variety of devices are now available to designers, although performance details are difficult to obtain. This course describes the available devices and specifies their mechanical characteristics and performance details. It outlines a number of design approaches for structures incorporating such devices and summarizes the current code-related issues affecting their use. This course is of particular interest to engineers and others involved in the design and implementation of new structures as well as of those being retrofitted.
Enrollment is limited and advance enrollment is required.
Some background in structural dynamics and mechanics. The course Introduction to Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering is very helpful. More than 20 years ago he undertook the theoretical and experimental research that has led to the acceptance of this new approach to earthquake-resistant design. He has worked in this field for many years.