The State of the Art on Seismic Protection Technologies for Structures: A Review

Structures in general offer satisfactory seismic performance thanks to a number of well-known features. However, the consequences of recent major earthquakes have clearly demonstrated that the seismic design of structures still needs to be improved. What’s more, today’s structures are designed for greater heights and are therefore subject to much higher seismic demands. This means they have to cope with even greater seismic demands. High-rise structures are subject to in-creased seismic forces due to their weight and interaction with the ground. It is therefore essential to strengthen their resistance to earthquakes in order to guarantee the safety of occupants and the protection of property. Seismic protection technology is an innovative approach to reducing the destructive effects of earthquakes on structures and ensuring the safety of occupants. This technology is based on the use of special devices and systems that im-prove a structure’s ability to resist seismic forces and dissipate the energy generated during an earthquake. There are various seismic protection technologies, each offering specific mechanisms for enhancing earthquake resistance. This review attempts to ensure this by first explaining the fundamentals of these techniques so that they can be understood by engineers or researchers who are not necessarily familiar with all the basic concepts of structural dynamics.