Integrated seismic and energetic rehabilitation of existing buildings based on the tuned mass damper concept

Abstract

The preservation of the existing building heritage to guarantee structural integrity is a paramount concern. At the same time, energy rehabilitation to enhance existing buildings efficiency is a key issue. In recent years the scientific community is making efforts to explore integrated seismic and energy retrofitting techniques combining them into a single assessment also pointing to a sustainable design. The paper explores for the first time the implementation of novel integrated seismic and energetic rehabilitation techniques drawing upon the concept of tuned mass damper (TMD). The structural solutions proposed implement the TMD concept on the roof, disconnected and isolated from the substructure, by means of different approaches realizing a non-conventional TMD, a TMD with large mass ratio and a tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI). The seismic retrofit interventions are seamlessly integrated with suitable energy retrofit strategies exploiting the same element realizing a cool roof, a photovoltaic roof, a green roof. A straight methodology for the implementation and design of the integrated interventions and a new procedure to select the optimal intervention is proposed. The methodology is exemplified on a case study of a typical reinforced concrete building. The results show that the realization of a lightweight photovoltaic roof employing a TMDI represents the optimal intervention, minimizing simultaneously interstory drifts and building primary energy consumption. However, it is highlighted that a different calibration of the weights given to the seismic and energy retrofits can affect the optimal choice.

Keywords

• Existing buildings
• Integrated retrofit interventions
• Seismic and energy retrofit
• Tuned mass damper
• Inerter
• Energy roof