This paper discusses the application of smart material technology to improve the safety and reliability of seismically excited structures. For seismic protection of civil engineering structures, one of the most promising smart materials is magnetorheological (MR) fluids. The essential characteristic of these fluids is their ability to reversibly change from a free-flowing, linear viscous fluid to a semi-solid with a controllable yield strength in milliseconds when exposed to a magnetic field. Recently developed MR fluids have an achievable yield stress that is more than an order of magnitude greater than competing controllable fluids. This paper will focus on assessing the efficacy of these fluids for development of "smart" dampers for seismic protection of structures through both laboratory and full-scale studies. Such dampers offer the reliability of passive devices, yet maintaining the versatility and adaptability of fully active control systems.

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