A discretely damped SDOF model for the rocking response of freestanding blocks

This paper presents a single-degree-of-freedom(SDOF)constitutive model for assessing the performance of freestanding block contents of buildings.The model incorporates a bespoke damper to account for energy dissipation associated with rocking.It is advantageous in its direct correlation,via energy conservation,to the restitution coefficient for impact during rocking.A comparative study with the existing SDOF rocking models shows that the proposed model significantly improves the accuracy of free-rocking simulations,in which inherent damping predominantly affects response.It provides a promising and efficient tool for computationally intensive performance evaluation of nonstructural components.