Innovative shear link coupling system for vibration synchronization and seismic pounding mitigation in reinforced concrete buildings

Innovative shear link coupling system for vibration synchronization and seismic pounding mitigation in reinforced concrete buildings | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Innovative shear link coupling system for vibration synchronization and seismic pounding mitigation in reinforced concrete buildings Ahmed Elgammal, Yasmin Ali, Shehata E. Abdel Raheem, Mohamed A. El Zareef, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7034588/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Seismic pounding and out-of-phase vibrations are critical issues for adjacent reinforced concrete structures. This research introduces an innovative shear link coupling system to synchronize inter-structural vibrations and mitigate pounding. The shear link coupling system connects adjacent buildings through replaceable, energy-dissipative shear links with tailored stiffness and ductility, allowing controlled deformation and energy absorption. The efficacy of this Novel Coupling System (NCS) is compared against a conventional Individual Building Retrofit (IBR) for two adjacent four-story reinforced concrete buildings with a 2.5 cm gap. The IBR uses steel chevron braces with aluminum links, while the NCS connects the buildings with steel rigid beams and aluminum links to enforce response synchronization. Advanced finite element modeling and nonlinear time-history analysis are used to evaluate interstory drift ratio, acceleration, and pounding potential. The analysis reveals that while the IBR reduces impacts, it cannot prevent hazardous collisions. In contrast, the NCS completely eliminates pounding by enforcing synchronization. The NCS dissipates nearly 65% of input energy through its links, compared to 45% for the IBR. Fragility analysis demonstrates that the NCS increases the median collapse capacity of the structures by over 300% relative to their as-is condition. The results show a significant reduction in seismic demand and pounding forces. The shear link coupling system’s enhanced resilience and reparability make it a viable solution for dense urban areas. This confirms that a design philosophy based on enforced synchronization is fundamentally more effective for mitigating seismic pounding than conventional independent-building strengthening. Civil Engineering Fragility Analysis Pounding Mitigation Reinforced Concrete Building Response Vibration Synchronization Seismic Pounding Replaceable Shear Link Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7034588","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":479970010,"identity":"0a2b153a-5e8b-4cce-b524-3e23d6fa1ac8","order_by":0,"name":"Ahmed Elgammal","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4144-667X","institution":"Department of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahmed","middleName":"","lastName":"Elgammal","suffix":""},{"id":479970011,"identity":"cda0eb8a-338b-4493-be7a-d88fa88f8fb2","order_by":1,"name":"Yasmin Ali","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABA0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBCDmY2Y+gBDhIUYLGzNbAgNcE0EtIMDGwGNAnBaD48efbni4g0GejZ3n8+ePbQz2/DMSGB+8bWOQN8el5UyO2Y3EMwyGbcy82yQOtjEkzriRwGw4t43BcGcDDi0HcthuJLYxMIK0MAC1JBhIJLBJ84IYB3BoOf/8GUiLfRszz+MPQC32QC3sv/FquZFgBtKSCNTCAHIY4wagLcz4tEjeeAPWktzGzGYmceacROKMMw+bJeeckzDcgEML3/n0Zzd/tjHY9vMffvyhoszGnr89+eCHN2U28rhsUYCI/4fxJYCYsQHKwA7kG3BKjYJRMApGwSiAAgCmgVikP1E3hAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7413-0885","institution":"Department of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China; Department of Civil Engineering, Delta University for Science and Technology, Gamasa 11152, Egypt","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yasmin","middleName":"","lastName":"Ali","suffix":""},{"id":479970012,"identity":"248e79b8-8106-4fd3-9290-d1f8a952e5bb","order_by":2,"name":"Shehata E. 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This research introduces an innovative shear link coupling system to synchronize inter-structural vibrations and mitigate pounding. The shear link coupling system connects adjacent buildings through replaceable, energy-dissipative shear links with tailored stiffness and ductility, allowing controlled deformation and energy absorption. The efficacy of this Novel Coupling System (NCS) is compared against a conventional Individual Building Retrofit (IBR) for two adjacent four-story reinforced concrete buildings with a 2.5 cm gap. The IBR uses steel chevron braces with aluminum links, while the NCS connects the buildings with steel rigid beams and aluminum links to enforce response synchronization. Advanced finite element modeling and nonlinear time-history analysis are used to evaluate interstory drift ratio, acceleration, and pounding potential. The analysis reveals that while the IBR reduces impacts, it cannot prevent hazardous collisions. 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