In this paper, the characteristics of energy-absorbing capacities of t
he viscoelastic damper and its applications to the seismic mitigation
of structures during earthquakes are studied. An innovative analytical
model for the viscoelastic damper accounting for the earthquake-like
and wind-like loadings and temperature effects, in good agreement with
experimental results, and finite element formulations for the viscoel
astic damper are presented. The applications of proposed methodology t
o a structure incorporating viscoelastic dampers is examined while sub
jected to horizontal and vertical earthquake ground motions. Numerical
results show that the responses of the structure equipped with added
dampers to earthquake loadings are significantly reduced. The same con
cept can also be applied to many types of structures for vibration red
uctions.