Review of Principles of Passive Supplemental Damping and Seismic Isolation by C. Christopoulos and A. Filiatrault: IUSS Press, Pavia, Italy, 2006. ISBN Price $110, 480 pp.

This book addresses two technological areas that have had profound impact on the design and construction of civil engineering structures under seismic loads. These areas are supplemental damping and seismic isolation. Research in and development of supplemental damping, or passive energy dissipation, for structural applications has a roughly $50\text{-}\text{year}$ history. However, only over the previous $20\text{years}$ or so have we seen this technology mature to the point where innovative devices have been developed on the basis of sound principles and integrated into buildings and bridges—either as new construction or as retrofit—for seismic hazard mitigation. Seismic isolation as a research topic, in comparison with supplemental damping, has an older origin; and its operating principle is now well understood. In recent years, however, exciting progress in practice has been made in several directions; these include the development of new or improved isolation systems and the development of hybrid systems, namely, isolation systems in combination with supplemental damping devices.

With this background, it is timely to see a book that collects and consolidates information from a diverse set of sources into an up-to-date unified presentation of both theoretical and practical aspects of these technologies. This book is divided into three main sections, supplemented by a Foreword by Professor V. V. Bertero, two sample seismic retrofit project assignments (Chapter 11), four appendixes listing structural implementations of these devices and systems (dating up to about 2003), and a comprehensive list of references.

After brief introductory remarks, the first section (Chapters 1–3) provides a concise review of the fundamentals of supplemental damping and seismic isolation, as well as current design philosophies from the viewpoint of performance-based earthquake engineering. Energy principles are introduced in Chapter 3, with a focus on energy as a design concept, as well as a common basis for performance comparison among various kinds of devices that have been studied and developed for structural applications. A comprehensive treatment of supplemental damping and supplemental damping devices (dampers), the second main section of the book, is covered in Chapters 4–8. Chapter 4 presents basic concepts and general design and analysis procedures for structures with dampers; a large variety of dampers are introduced in Chapters 5–8, following a well-organized presentation of their basic properties, analytical modeling, experimental studies, design procedures, and structural implementation examples. Chapter 5 discusses metallic and friction dampers. Chapter 6 focuses on viscous and viscoelastic dampers. Chapter 7 discusses a class of dampers with the so-called self-centering characteristic, namely, damping systems capable of eliminating or minimizing residual deformations, an important consideration in current lateral force-resisting systems. Chapter 8 deals with tuned mass dampers and provides a discussion of their applicability to structures under seismic loads. Of these chapters, the authors give particular attention to self-centering devices, with an extensive discussion of their salient features and their importance in structural applications.

Chapters 9 and 10 comprise the third main section, which deals with seismic isolation. Although the discussion here is less detailed in comparison with that of supplemental damping, Chapter 9 does give a sound theoretical background of isolation systems in general and their design procedures for seismically excited buildings and bridges. Chapter 10 follows with an overview of isolation systems used today, including elastomeric, lead-rubber, metallic, and sliding bearings; friction pendulum systems; and hybrid systems in which dampers are incorporated into seismic isolation systems.

Exercises at the end of each chapter help the reader gain deeper appreciation of the material covered. Answers to these exercises are also provided at the end of the text. In addition, as previously mentioned, two rather ambitious project assignments are provided in Chapter 11, which can perhaps be best carried out by a group of readers or students. These project assignments furnish an opportunity for readers to gain hands-on experience in carrying out the basic design steps required in seismic retrofit of structures by using these devices and systems. The CD-ROM that accompanies the book includes some examples, a student version of the computer program RUAUMOKO, and data input for the structural models considered in the project assignments in Chapter 11. Indeed, Chapter 11 is a well-conceived chapter and a fitting closure to this ambitious writing project.

This book review would be incomplete without taking note of the Foreword penned by Prof. Bertero. It is always a delight to read his writings, and his insightful Foreword is no exception. In the Foreword, he frames his view of the content of the book in the broad context of earthquake engineering. He highlights Chapter 7 on self-centering systems as a particularly important contribution by the authors. And he summarizes his assessment by saying that this book “provides the most comprehensive treatment on the principles of modern passive supplemental damping and seismic isolation that is available at present.” This reviewer’s overall impression of the book resonates strongly with Prof. Bertero’s remarks. This book should be an invaluable resource to experienced professionals, as well as researchers and students in the field.