Perforated plate seismic damper

A seismic damper for use in substantially eliminating non-linear displacement of an attached support structure, the seismic damper comprising:

• a perforated flat plate having a regular geometric shape having corners, said perforated flat plate including:
• at least one cut-out centered along each side of said perforated flat plate, each of said cut-outs having a curved shape selected from a group consisting of:
• a semi-circle and an arc;
• a central aperture formed in and extending through said perforated flat plate, said central aperture having a length greater than or equal to a total length of at least one of said cut-outs;
• tabs at each corner of said flat plate, each of said tabs intersecting with two adjacent tabs at a node, thereby forming an equal number of tabs and nodes, wherein each of said tabs is configured to be attached to a member of a diagonal brace system;
• and
• a node between each adjacent tab, wherein said nodes are aligned between said central aperture and said cut-outs, wherein each of said nodes has an interior surface defined by said central aperture and an outer surface defined by one of said cut-outs, and wherein said nodes are configured such that when a force is applied to said diagonal brace system and transferred to said perforated flat plate, said force transferred to said perforated flat plate is concentrated substantially at said nodes.

A seismically damped structural system comprising:

• a plurality of cross-members intersecting at a particular location;
• and
• a single plate seismic damper attached to each of said plurality of cross-members at said particular location, said single plate seismic damper comprising:
• a flat plate having corners formed therein;
• one or more apertures formed inside said flat plate and extending fully through a thickness of said flat plate;
• and
• one or more cut-outs formed in an edge of each side of said flat plate, each of said cut-outs extending fully through the thickness of said flat plate;
• wherein said one or more apertures and said one or more cut-outs define:
• a plurality of tabs, wherein a tab is formed in each corner of said substantially flat plate;
• and
• a node between each adjacent tab of said plurality of tabs, wherein said nodes are aligned between at least one of said one or more apertures and said one or more cut-outs, wherein at least a portion of each of said nodes has an interior surface defined by at least one of said one or more apertures and an outer surface defined by said one or more cut-outs, and wherein said nodes are configured such that when a force is applied to said cross-members and transferred to said flat plate, said force transferred to said flat plate is concentrated substantially at said nodes.