Identification of an extended Bouc–Wen model with application to seismic protection through hysteretic devices

In this paper is proposed an extended Bouc–Wen model for improving its capability to approximate experimental symmetric hysteretic loops. On the basis of the generalized equation there are defined integral and differential conditions that describe the essential geometric properties of a hysteretic curve. Next, a new method based on Genetic Algorithms is developed to identify the Bouc–Wen model parameters from experimental hysteretic loops obtained from periodic loading tests. The performance of presented approach is illustrated for two types of seismic protection devices with hysteretic characteristics: elastomeric base isolators and buckling restrained dissipative braces. The applicability of proposed method is highlighted by using the derived models to analyse by numerical simulation the efficiency of these devices for reducing seismic response of a three stories civil structure.