Method and structure for damping movement in buildings

A building structure comprising:

• a first structural element extending parallel to a vertical axis of the building structure, the first structural element being substantially self-supporting and susceptible of shear or flexural deformation, a component of the shear or flexural deformation being along a horizontal axis of the building structure,
• a second structural element, adjacent to the first structural element and extending parallel to the vertical axis, the first and second structural elements being such that a component of said shear or flexural deformation causes relative axial movements between the first and second structural elements parallel to said vertical axis,
• a plurality of vertically spaced damping stages, each damping stage comprising a rigid outrigger element extending between the first and second structural elements,
• a plurality of biaxial or multiaxial dampers mounted pairwise, in vertically spaced pairs along said vertical axis, each pair mounted between the first and second structural elements and to a respective one of said outrigger elements,
• each pair of dampers comprising a first damper and a second damper arranged, vertically spaced, in a common region of the building structure,
• wherein each said damper is capable of providing axial damping along a first damping axis substantially parallel to said vertical axis and lateral damping along a second damping axis substantially parallel to a direction in which said outrigger element extends, and such that, during said shear or flexural deformation of the first structural element in the common region of the building structure, the first damper is in one of tension (T) or compression (C) along one of its damping axes, while the second damper is in the other of tension (T) or compression (C) along one of its damping axes.

Method of damping movements in a building structure comprising a first structural element extending parallel to a vertical axis of the building structure, the first structural element being substantially self-supporting and susceptible to shear or flexural deformation, a component of the shear or flexural deformation being along a horizontal axis of the building structure, the method comprising:

• a first step of providing a second structural element adjacent to the first structural element, and extending parallel to said vertical axis, the first and second structural elements being such that a component of said shear or flexural deformation causes relative axial movements between the first and second structural elements parallel to said vertical axis at a first predetermined location along said vertical axis,
• a second step of arranging a plurality of vertically spaced damping stages, each damping stage comprising a rigid outrigger element extending outward from the first structural element towards the second structural element,
• wherein the second step includes arranging a plurality of biaxial or multiaxial dampers pairwise, in vertically spaced pairs along said vertical axis, between the first and second structural elements, each of said dampers being capable of damping along a first damping axis substantially parallel to said vertical axis and a second damping axis perpendicular to said first damping axis,
• each pair of dampers comprising a first damper and a second damper arranged, vertically spaced, in a common region of the building structure,
• the first and second dampers being mounted between an outer edge of each outrigger and the second structural element, so as to provide axial damping along said vertical axis and lateral damping along said horizontal axis, and such that, during said shear or flexural deformation of the first structural element in the common region of the building structure, the first damper is in one of tension (T) or compression (C) along one of its damping axes, while the second damper is in the other of tension (T) or compression (C) along one of its damping axes.