Keywords: plastic disconnection of floor mass, seismic stress control, inertia limiters, rigid-plastic connectors.

The paper assesses the effectiveness of a stress control method based on reducing inertial loads on buildings during strong earthquakes. In the method, elastic-plastic connectors (very stiff in the elastic range) are assumed to be interposed between non-structural and structural floor masses. Such connectors act as inertia limiters, since they assure that a portion of the active floor mass is plastically disconnected as soon as a pre-set level of horizontal load is reached at the building storey. Previous results showed that the method may actually lead to drastic stress reductions on building columns. The extent of the stress reduction, however, depends on some key parameters, among which are the mass ratio, the yield ratio and the natural period of the system. With the aim of studying in depth the influence of such parameters on the effectiveness of the method, an extensive numerical investigation has been here performed. Linear and non-linear models of single-story frames subjected to different recorded ground motions have been considered. The results of the investigation spot the ranges within which the mass ratio and the yield ratio should be set, in order to get the best benefits from the considered method of seismic stress control. The role of the natural period of the system as well as the extent of the relative displacement demand on disconnected mass are also investigated.

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