Application of computational fluid dynamics in design of viscous dampers-CFD modeling and full-scale dynamic testing

Computational fluid dynamics(CFD)provides a powerful tool for investigating complicated fluid flows.This paper aims to study the applicability of CFD in the preliminary design of linear and nonlinear fluid viscous dampers.Two fluid viscous dampers were designed based on CFD models.The first device was a linear viscous damper with straight orifices.The second was a nonlinear viscous damper containing a one-way pressure-responsive valve inside its orifices.Both dampers were detailed based on CFD simulations,and their internal fluid flows were investigated.Full-scale specimens of both dampers were manufactured and tested under dynamic loads.According to the tests results,both dampers demonstrate stable cyclic behaviors,and as expected,the nonlinear damper generally tends to dissipate more energy compared to its linear counterpart.Good compatibility was achieved between the experimentally measured damper force-velocity curves and those estimated from CFD analyses.Using a thermography camera,a rise in temperature of the dampers was measured during the tests.It was found that output force of the manufactured devices was virtually independent of temperature even during long duration loadings.Accordingly,temperature dependence can be ignored in CFD models,because a reliable temperature compensator mechanism was used(or intended to be used)by the damper manufacturer.

Improving the seismic performance of base-isolated liquid storage tanks with supplemental linear viscous dampers

Large tanks are extensively used for storing water,petrochemicals and fuels.Since they are often cited in earthquake-prone areas,the safe and continuous operation of these important structures must be ensured even when severe earthquakes occur,since their failure could have devastating financial and socio-environmental consequences.Base-isolation has been widely adopted for the efficient seismic protection of such critical facilities.However,base-isolated tanks can be located relatively close to active faults that generate strong excitations with special characteristics.Consequently,viscous dampers can be incorporated into the isolation system to reduce excessive displacement demands and to avoid overconservative isolator design.Nonetheless,only a few studies have focused on the investigation of seismic response of base-isolated liquid storage tanks in conjunction with supplemental viscous dampers.Therefore,the impact of the addition of supplemental linear viscous dampers on the seismic performance of tanks isolated by single friction pendulum devices is investigated herein.Four levels of supplemental damping are assessed and compared with respect to isolators′displacement capacity and accelerations that are transferred to the tanks.

Improving the seismic torsional behavior of plan-asymmetric,single-storey,concrete moment resisting buildings with fluid viscous dampers

The optimal distribution of fluid viscous dampers（FVD）in controlling the seismic response of eccentric,single-storey,moment resisting concrete structures is investigated using the previously defined center of damping constant（CDC）.For this purpose,a number of structural models with different one-way stiffness and strength eccentricities are considered.Extensive nonlinear time history analyses are carried out for various arrangements of FVDs.It is shown that the arrangement of FVDs for controlling the torsional behavior due to asymmetry in the concrete structures is very dependent on the intensity of the peak ground acceleration（PGA）and the extent of the structural stiffness and strength eccentricities.The results indicate that,in the linear range of structural behavior the stiffness eccentricity es which is the main parameter in determining the location of optimal CDC,is found to be less or smaller than the optimal damping constant eccentricity e＊d,i.e.,｜e＊d｜ 〉 ｜es｜.But,in the nonlinear range of structural behavior where the strength eccentricity er is the dominant factor in determining the location of optimal CDC,｜e＊d｜ 〉 ｜er｜.It is also concluded that for the majority of the plan-asymmetric,concrete structures considered in this study with er ≠ 0,the optimal CDC approaches the center of mass as er decreases.

Efficiency of the motion amplification device with viscous dampers and its application in high-rise buildings

After nearly a decade of application and investigation, a motion amplification device with viscous dampers for energy dissipation has been recognized as an effective solution to mitigate wind or seismic excitation, especially for stiff structural systems. As a result of compensation of amplified motion, it has been proved that the efficiency of viscous damper largely depends on the motion amplification device configuration, particularly for device stiflhess. In this paper, a ＂scissor-jack＂ type of motion amplification device, called a ＂toggle brace damper＂ system, is studied. It is demonstrated that the efficiency of such a device reflected by its amplification factor is not merely a function of its geometric configuration, but is highly dependent on the support elements＇ stiffness as well, similar to the mechanism of a leverage arm. Accordingly, a mathematical model in terms of complex modulus of the viscous damper with consideration of the support brace＇s stiffness is established. The results indicate that the efficiency of the motion amplification device with viscous dampers significantly depends on the stiffness of the support elements. Other parameters, such as toggle brace configuration and damping values of the viscous damper, are studied and compared. As an application example, numerical analyses are conducted to study the dynamic performance of a 39-story office tower installed with toggle brace dampers constructed on soft soil in a reclaimed area, under a combined effect of the vortex shedding of an adjacent existing 52-story building and earthquakes. The results show that viscous dampers with a motion amplification system using a properly designed toggle brace device proved to be an effective solution to alleviate the external excitations.

Mitigation of micro vibration by viscous dampers

This study proposes a micro vibration mitigation system using viscous dampers to solve the problem of vibration in a high-tech building. Due to the operating frequency of the air conditioners and fundamental mode of the floors, a resonant phenomenon is occasionally experienced at the upper levels of the structure. Several strategies were considered, and viscous dampers combined with a suspension system were chosen to mitigate this annoying situation. A theoretical analysis was first executed to determine the optimal design value of the damper and the suspension spring. An efficient reduction in floor velocity of approximately 50 % was achieved by the proposed system. Practical verifications including a performance test of the micro-vibration-oriented dampers, the pragmatic application result, and a comparison in one-third octave spectrum was then carried out. The performance of the system was demonstrated by the data measured. It alleviated more trembling than was numerically expected. The energy absorbed by the viscous dampers is illustrated by the hysteresis loops and the one-third octave spectrum. It is found that with the proposed system, the vibration can be effectively captured by the viscous damper and converted to lower frequency-content tremors. The success of this project greatly supports the proposed standard two-stage analysis procedure for mitigating micro-vibration problems in practice. This research extends the use of viscous dampers to a new field.

Seismic performance of steel MRF building with nonlinear viscous dampers

This paper presents an experimental study of the seismic response of a 0.6-scale three-story seismicresistant building structure consisting of a moment resisting frame （MRF） with reduced beam sections （RBS）, and a frame with nonlinear viscous dampers and associated bracing （called the DBF）. The emphasis is on assessing the seismic performance for the design basis earthquake （DBE） and maximum considered earthquake （MCE）. Three MRF designs were studied, with the MRF designed for 100%, 75%, and 60%, respectively, of the required base shear design strength determined according to ASCE 7-10. The DBF with nonlinear viscous dampers was designed to control the lateral drift demands. Earthquake simulations using ensembles of DBE and MCE ground motions were conducted using the real-time hybrid simulation method. The results show the drift demand and damage that occurs in the MRF under seismic loading. Overall, the results show that a high level of seismic performance can be achieved under DBE and MCE ground motions, even for a building structure designed for as little as 60% of the base shear design strength required by ASCE 7-10 for a structure without dampers.

Loss of energy dissipation capacity from the deadzone in linear and nonlinear viscous damping devices

In a viscous damping device under cyclic loading, after the piston reaches a peak stroke, the reserve movement that follows may sometimes experience a short period of delayed or significantly reduced device force output. A similar delay or reduced device force output may also occur at the damper＇s initial stroke as it moves away from its neutral position. This phenomenon is referred to as the effect of ＂deadzone＂. The deadzone can cause a loss of energy dissipation capacity and less efficient vibration control. It is prominent in small amplitude vibrations. Although there are many potential causes of deadzone such as environmental factors, construction, material aging, and manufacture quality, in this paper, its general effect in linear and nonlinear viscous damping devices is analyzed. Based on classical dynamics and damping theory, a simple model is developed to capture the effect ofdeadzone in terms of the loss of energy dissipation capacity. The model provides several methods to estimate the loss of energy dissipation within the deadzone in linear and sublinear viscous fluid dampers. An empirical equation of loss of energy dissipation capacity versus deadzone size is formulated, and the equivalent reduction of effective damping in SDOF systems has been obtained. A laboratory experimental evaluation is carried out to verify the effect of deadzone and its numerical approximation. Based on the analysis, a modification is suggested to the corresponding formulas in FEMA 3 5 6 for calculation of equivalent damping if a deadzone is to be considered.

Wind-Induced Vibration Control for Substation Frame on Viscous Damper

In order to study the wind-induced vibration control effect of the viscous damper on the large-scale substation frame,this paper takes the large-scale 1000 kV substation frame of western Inner Mongolia as an example.The time-history sample of pulsating wind load is simulated by harmonic superposition method based on Matlab software.6 kinds of viscous damper arrangement schemes have been designed,and SAP2000 finite element software is used for fine modeling and input wind speed time history load for nonlinear time history analysis.The displacement and acceleration of a typical node are the indicators of wind vibration control.The wind-induced vibration control effects of different schemes under different damping parameters have compared,and the damping parameters are analyzed for the optimal layout scheme.The results show that a viscous damper has installed in the lower layers of the substation;a viscous damper is placed between the ground column and the lattice beam.It is an integrated optimal solution.The wind-induced vibration control effect of the optimal scheme is sensitive to the viscous damper parameters,and the control effect does not increase linearly with the increase of the damping index and the damping coefficient.Corresponding to different damping indexes,the damping coefficient has a better range of values.

THEORY AND EXPERIMENT ON THE VISCOUS HEATING OF FLUID DAMPER UNDER SHOCK ENVIRONMENT

A specially designed fluid damper used as negative shock pulse generator in the shock resistance test system to dissipate the shock input energy in transient time duration is presented. The theoretical modeling based on the three-dimensional equation of heat transfer through a fluid element is created to predict the viscous heating in the fluid damper under shock conditions. A comprehensive experimental program that investigates the problem of viscous heating in the fluid damper under different shock conditions is conducted on the shock test machine to validate the analytical expression. Temperature histories for the fluid within the damper at two locations, the annular-oriflce and the-end-of stroke of the damper, are recorded. The experimental results show that the theoretical model can offer a very dependable prediction for the temperature histories in the damper for increasing input velocity. The theoretical model and experimental data both clearly indicate that the viscous heating in the damper is directly related to the maximum shock velocity input and the pressure between the two sides of the piston head.

A quasi-zero-stiffness isolator with a shear-thinning viscous damper

Quasi-zero-stiffness(QZS)vibration isolators have been widely studied,because they show excellent high static and low dynamic stiffnesses and can effectively solve low-frequency and ultralow-frequency vibration.However,traditional QZS(T-QZS)vibration isolators usually adopt linear damping,owing to which achieving good isolation performance at both low and high frequencies is difficult.T-QZS isolators exhibit hardening stiffness characteristics,and their vibration isolation performance is even worse than that of linear vibration isolators under a large excitation amplitude.Therefore,this study proposes a QZS isolator with a shear-thinning viscous damper(SVD)to improve the vibration isolation performance of the T-QZS isolators.The force-velocity relation of the SVD is obtained,and a dynamic model is established for the isolator.The dynamic responses of the system are solved using the harmonic balance method(HBM)and the Runge-Kutta method.The vibration isolation performance of the system is evaluated using force transmissibility,and the isolator parameters are analyzed.The results show that compared with the T-QZS isolators,the proposed QZS-SVD isolator achieves the lower initial vibration isolation frequency and peak value,and exhibits better vibration isolation performance at medium and high frequencies.Moreover,the proposed isolator can withstand a large excitation amplitude in the effective vibration isolation range.

Study on Vibration Characteristics of Stay Cable-Nonlinear Viscous Damper System

Tension cables are easily prone to generating varied vibrations under the action of external loads, which adversely affects the safety of bridges. Therefore, it is necessary to take effective measures to suppress the vibrations of tension cables. Cable end dampers are widely used in vibration reduction for cable-stayed bridges due to their convenient installation and low costs. However, the previous studies on the tension cable-viscous damper systems mostly adopt the linear method, and the weakening effect of the flexibility of mounting brackets on the damper vibration reduction is not sufficiently taken into account. Therefore, this paper adopts the improved Kelvin model to conduct the derivation, solution, and parametric analysis of vibration equations for the stay cable-nonlinear viscous damper systems. The results of parametric analysis show that the maximum modal damping ratio that can be obtained by cables and the corresponding optimal damping coefficient of dampers are correlated with the damping nonlinear coefficient α, stiffness nonlinear coefficient β, vibration order n, installation position a/L, and stiffness coefficient μ, etc.;among them, n damping nonlinear coefficient α and stiffness nonlinear coefficient β are the key parameters that affect the parameter design of dampers, where damping nonlinear coefficient α mainly controls the optimal damping coefficient and stiffness nonlinear coefficient β mainly controls the maximum damping ratio. Based on the parametric analysis, the design principles of dampers and value requirements of key parameters under different vibration suppression objectives are presented.

Rapid report of seismic damage to buildings in the 2022 M 6.8 Luding earthquake,China

The report summarizes the observed damage to a variety of buildings near the epicenter of the M6.8 Luding earthquake in Sichuan Province,China.They include base-isolated buildings,multi-story reinforced concrete(RC)frame buildings,and masonry buildings.The near-field region is known to be tectonically highly active,and the local intensity level is the highest,that is,0.4g peak ground acceleration(PGA)for the design basis earthquake,in the Chinese zonation of seismic ground motion parameters.The extent of damage ranged from the weak-story collapse that claimed lives to the extensive nonstructural damage that suspended occupancy.The report highlights the first observation of the destruction of rubber bearings and viscous dampers in the isolation layer of Chinese seismically isolated buildings.It also features the rare observation of the brittle shear failure of RC columns in moment-resisting frames in a region of such a high seismic design requirement.Possible reasons that may have attributed to the reported damage are suggested by providing facts observed in the field.However,careful forensic analyses are needed before any conclusive judgment can be made.

Structural vibration passive control and economic analysis of a high-rise building in Beijing

Performance analysis of the Pangu Plaza under earthquake and wind loads is described in this paper. The plaza is a 39-story steel high-rise building, 191 m high, located in Beijing close to the 2008 Olympic main stadium. It has both fluid viscous dampers （FVDs） and buckling restrained braces or unbonded brace （BRB or UBB） installed. A repeated iteration procedure in its design and analysis was adopted for optimization. Results from the seismic response analysis in the horizontal and vertical directions show that the FVDs are highly effective in reducing the response of both the main structure and the secondary system. A comparative analysis of structural seismic performance and economic impact was conducted using traditional methods, i.e., increased size of steel columns and beams and/or use of an increased number of seismic braces versus using FVD. Both the structural response and economic analysis show that using FVD to absorb seismic energy not only satisfies the Chinese seismic design code for a ＂rare＂ earthquake, but is also the most economical way to improve seismic performance both for one-time direct investment and long term maintenance.

Application of buckling-restrained braces in the seismic control of suspension bridges

Buckling-restrained braces(BRBs)are widely used to improve the seismic performance of buildings.This paper aims to introduce BRBs to suspension bridges and assess the seismic performance of bridges with BRBs.Taking the Dadu River Bridge as a case study,an FEA model of the bridge is established,and different seismic measures(BRBs between the deck and the tower,BRBs at the middle of the span to replace the inclined suspenders to connect the deck and the main cables,fluid viscous dampers(FVDs)between the deck and the tower,the combination of BRBs to replace the inclined suspenders as well as FVDs between the deck and the tower)are applied to the suspension bridge.The influence of the parameters of BRBs on the seismic response of the suspension bridge is studied,and the performance of the bridge with BRBs is compared with that of the bridge with FVDs.The results indicate that the use of BRBs in place of the inclined suspenders is beneficial to reduce the displacement of the deck and limit the shear force and bending moment of the tower.The seismic performance of the suspension bridge with BRBs and FVDs is better than that of the bridge with BRBs or FVDs.Therefore,the application of BRBs is a feasible method to improve the seismic performance of the suspension bridge.

Typical dampers and energy harvesters based on characteristics of ferrofluids

Ferrofluids are a type of nanometer-scale functional material with fluidity and superparamagnetism.They are composed of ferromagnetic particles,surfactants,and base liquids.The main characteristics of ferrofluids include magnetization,the magnetoviscous effect,and levitation characteristics.There are many mature commercial ferrofluid damping applications based on these characteristics that are widely used in numerous fields.Furthermore,some ferrofluid damping studies such as those related to vibration energy harvesters and biomedical devices are still in the laboratory stage.This review paper summarizes typical ferrofluid dampers and energy harvesting systems from the 1960s to the present,including ferrofluid viscous dampers,ferrofluid inertia dampers,tuned magnetic fluid dampers(TMFDs),and vibration energy harvesters.In particular,it focuses on TMFDs and vibration energy harvesters because they have been the hottest research topics in the ferrofluid damping field in recent years.This review also proposes a novel magnetic fluid damper that achieves energy conversion and improves the efficiency of vibration attenuation.Finally,we discuss the potential challenges and development of ferrofluid damping in future research.

Suppression of multiple modal resonances of a cantilever beam by an impact damper

Impact dampers are usually used to suppress single mode resonance. The goal of this paper is to clarify the difference when the impact damper suppresses the resonances of different modes. A cantilever beam equipped with the impact damper is modeled. The elastic contact of the ball and the cantilever beam is described by using the Hertz contact model. The viscous damper between the ball and the cantilever beam is modeled to consume the vibrational energy of the cantilever beam. A piecewise ordinary differential-partial differential equation of the cantilever beam is established, including equations with and without the impact damper. The vibration responses of the cantilever beam with and without the impact damper are numerically calculated. The effects of the impact absorber parameters on the vibration reduction are examined. The results show that multiple resonance peaks of the cantilever beam can be effectively suppressed by the impact damper. Specifically, all resonance amplitudes can be reduced by a larger weight ball. Moreover, the impacting gap is very effective in suppressing the vibration of the cantilever beam. More importantly, there is an optimal impacting gap for each resonance mode of the cantilever beam, but the optimal gap for each mode is different.

Full-scale dynamic testing of response-controlled buildings and their components:concepts,methods,and findings

A series of shake-table tests was conducted by inserting and replacing 4 different types of dampers,or by removing them in a full-scale 5-story steel frame building. The objective is to validate response-control technologies that are increasingly adopted for major Japanese buildings without being attested to-date by a major earthquake. Test results are briefly described,and good performance of the dampers and frame demonstrated. The concepts of the full-scale building tests and various contributions are discussed. The difficulty associated with full-scale dynamic testing is explained.

Substructure design optimization and nonlinear responses control analysis of the mega-sub controlled structural system (MSCSS) under earthquake action

The newly proposed mega sub-controlled structure system(MSCSS)and related studies have drawn the attention of civil engineers for practice in improving the performance and enhancing the structural effectiveness of mega frame structures.However,there is still a need for improvement to its basic structural arrangement.In this project,an advanced,reasonable arrangement of mega sub-controlled structure models,composed of three mega stories with different numbers and arrangements of substructures,are designed to investigate the control performance of the models and obtain the optimal model configuration(model with minimum acceleration and displacement responses)under strong earthquake excitation.In addition,the dynamic parameters that affect the performance effectiveness of the optimal model of MSCSS are studied and discussed.The area of the relative stiffness ratio RD,with different mass ratio MR,within which the acceleration and displacement of the optimal model of MSCSS reaches its optimum(minimum)value is considered as an optimum region.It serves as a useful tool in practical engineering design.The study demonstrates that the proposed MSCSS configuration can efficiently control the displacement and acceleration of high rise buildings.In addition,some analytical guidelines are provided for selecting the control parameters of the structure.

Ideal Drift Response Curve for Robust Optimal Damper Design for Elastic-Plastic MDOF Structures under Multi-Level Earthquakes Dedicated to Professor Karl S.Pister for his 95th birthday

A new method of robust damper design is presented for elastic-plastic multi-degree-of-freedom(MDOF)building structures under multi-level ground motions(GMs).This method realizes a design that is effective for various levels of GMs.The robustness of a design is measured by an incremental dynamic analysis(IDA)curve and an ideal drift response curve(IDRC).The IDRC is a plot of the optimized maximum deformation under a constraint on the total damper quantity vs.the design level of the GMs.The total damper quantity corresponds to the total cost of the added dampers.First,a problem of generation of IDRCs is stated.Then,its solution algorithm,which consists of the sensitivity-based algorithm(SBA)and a local search method,is proposed.In the application of the SBA,the passive added dampers are removed sequentially under the specified-level GMs.On the other hand,the proposed local search method can search the optimal solutions for a constant total damper quantity under GMs’increased levels.In this way,combining these two algorithms enables the comprehensive search of the optimal solutions for various conditions of the status of the GMs and the total damper quantity.The influence of selecting the type of added dampers(oil,hysteretic,and so on)and the selection of the input GMs on the IDRCs are investigated.Finally,a robust optimal design problem is formulated,and a simple local search-based algorithm is proposed.A simple index using the IDRC and the IDA curve of the model is used as the objective function.It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm works well in spite of its simplicity.

Evaluation of a developed bypass viscous damper performance

In this study,the dynamic behavior of a developed bypass viscous damper is evaluated.Bypass viscous damper has a flexible hose as an external orifice through which the inside fluid transfer from one side to the other side of the inner piston.Accordingly,the viscosity coficient of the damper can be adjusted using geometrical dimensions of the hose.Moreover,the external orifice acts as a thermal compensator and alleviates viscous heating of the damper.According to experimental results,Computational Fluid Dynamic(CFD)model,a numerical formula and the simplified.Maxwell model are found and assessed;therefore,the verification of numerical and computational models are evaluated for simulating.Also,a simplifed procedure is proposed to design structures with bypass viscous dampers.The design procedure is applied to design an 8-story hospital structure with bypass viscous dampers,and it is compared with the same structure,which is designed with concentric braces and without dampers.Nonlinear time history analyses revealed that the hospital with viscous damper experiences less structural inelastic demands and fewer story accelerations which mean fewer demands on nonstructural elements.Moreover,seismic behaviors of nonstructural masonry claddings are also compared in the cases of hospital structure with and without dampers.