Earthquake-proof glass-aluminium partition walls with viscoelastic dissipative devices

Glass-aluminium partition walls are an aesthetically appealing solution for dividing open spaces within buildings. However, their seismic performance poses some serious concerns due to their limited capacity to withstand inter-storey drifts. To reduce their seismic vulnerability, the original idea proposed in this contribution is the decoupling of the glass plates, which represent the quasi-totality of the system mass, from the perimetral aluminium frames by exploiting a dissipative connection made of high damping rubber pads. The concept behind the proposed solution is presented in this paper and some experimental analyses performed on various small-scale and real-scale prototypes are presented. It is shown that the proposed innovative solution allows to avoid any damage in conditions that could be found in multistorey buildings in regions of high seismic risk in Italy. Finally, a first real application in a public building in the Marche region, close to the epicentres of the 2016 Central Italy seismic events, is presented showing advantages over traditional solutions and highlighting possible further developments