Seismic protection of critical infrastructures through innovative technologies

Development of new technologies for seismic protection will better support the sustainable urban systems. The paper focuses on development of an innovative technology for seismic protection of bridges using smart materials. The seismic protection of structures with the use of special devices is widely accepted as a very effective technique, both for new constructions and for retrofitting of existing ones. Shape memory alloys show the potential to eliminate the limitations of the present technologies, presenting broader application domain. Damper cum restraining device with recentering capabilities has been developed within the laboratory and shake table experiments were conducted on an equivalent SDOF system for a specific narrow band spectrum. The model was subjected to a strong resonant earthquake ground motion in the horizontal direction and analytical investigations were carried out. The damper is found to be very effective for seismic performance enhancement of critical facilities like bridges offering great benefits for the sustainable development of urban systems.