Development of steel dampers for bridges to allow large displacement through a vertical free mechanism

Isolation bearings and dampers are often installed between piers and superstructures to reduce the seismic responses of bridges under large earthquakes. This paper presents a novel steel damper for bridges. The damper employs steel plates as energy dissipation components, and adopts a vertical free mechanism to achieve a large deformation capacity. Quasi-static tests using displacement-controlled cyclic loading and numerical analyses using a finite element program called ABAQUS are conducted to investigate the behavior of the damper, and a design methodology is proposed based on the tests and numerical analyses. Major conclusions obtained from this study are as follows： （1） the new dampers have stable hysteresis behavior under large displacements; （2） finite element analyses are able to simulate the behavior of the damper with satisfactory accuracy; and （3） simplified design methodology of the damper is effective.

Analytical and experimental study on mild steel dampers with non-uniform vertical slits

This study proposes a novel mild steel damper with non-uniform vertical slits. The influence of different shapes of vertical slits of the core energy plate on the energy dissipation and buckling resistance capacities is analyzed. Based on the theoretical analysis, formulas of key parameters of the dampers, including the elastic lateral stiffness, shear bearing capacity and yield displacement, are derived. The effectiveness of the proposed damper is demonstrated through pseudo static tests on four 0.25-scale specimens. Performance of these dampers, i.e. cyclic deformation, stress distribution, energy dissipation capacity, etc., are presented and discussed. Using the numerical models of dampers calibrated through test data, earthquake time-history analyses were conducted, and it is observed that the dampers significantly reduce the seismic responses of the prototype frame and have a desirable energy dissipation capacity.

Seismic retrofit of existing SRC frames using rocking walls and steel dampers

A retrofit of an existing ll-story steel reinforced concrete frame that features the innovative use of post-tensioned rocking walls and shear steel dampers is presented.The main components of the retrofitting plan and important design considerations are described.The.retrofitting system is expected to effectively control the deformation pattern of the existing structure and significantly reduce damage to the existing structure during major earthquakes.

Research on seismic performance and design method of combined steel lead energy dissipation structure(Ⅰ)

A new combined steel lead damper (NCSLD) was presented. Construction and working mechanism of NCSLD were introduced,pseudo-static tests of the small size dampers which would be used in the subsequent shaking table tests were carried out for the study of mechanical properties of NCSLD using electro-hydraulic servo press-shear machine. Processing technology of the damper was improved. Shaking table tests under two-dimensional excitation on structural aseismic control of a one-story structure model were carried out using the small size NCSLD; parameters of the structure and shaking table were also introduced. Results indicate that process improvement is beneficial to the implementation of working mechanism of the damper,NCSLD has full hysteresis loop which takes on bilinearity,NCSLD has obvious energy dissipation effect and it can control structural seismic response effectively.

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.

Numerical study of a multiple post-tensioned rocking wall-frame system for seismic resilient precast concrete buildings

A multiple rocking wall-frame(MRWF)system,in which the wall panels are directly connected to the adjacent beams and foundation is presented herein.In the MRWF system,the unbonded post-tensioned(PT)tendons are used to promote the self-centering ability,and O-shaped steel dampers are applied to enhance the energy dissipation capacity and reparability of the structure.First,analytical equations are proposed to determine the behavior of the O-shaped dampers.Then,the MRWF system is numerically evaluated for five different models consisting of rocking walls with varying numbers and arrangements while keeping the total effective width of wall panels constant.The numerical results show that with an increase in the number of wall panels and a decrease in the wall width,the hysteretic behavior of the MRWF system tends to the ideal flag-shaped pattern,resulting in little damage to the beams,insignificant strain in the wall toe,negligible residual drifts and damage index of less than 0.2 under severe earthquakes.In contrast,the conventional model demonstrates extensive damage to the structural elements due to undesirable wall-to-frame interaction,which leads to a damage index of 0.78 and residual drifts of 0.42%under seismic loads.

Hysteretic behavior of cambered surface steel tube damper:Theoretical and experimental research

A novel cambered surface steel tube damper(CSTD)with a cambered surface steel tube and two concave connecting plates is proposed herein.The steel tube is the main energy dissipation component and comprises a weakened segment in the middle,a transition segment,and an embedded segment.It is believed that during an earthquake,the middle weakened segment of the CSTD will be damaged,whereas the reliability of the end connection is ensured.Theoretical and experimental studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed CSTD.Formulas for the initial stiffness and yield force of the CSTD are proposed.Subsequently,two CSTD specimens with different steel tube thicknesses are fabricated and tested under cyclic quasi-static loads.The result shows that the CSTD yields a stable hysteretic response and affords excellent energy dissipation.A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of the steel tube height,diameter,and thickness on the seismic performance of the CSTD.Compared with equalstiffness design steel tube dampers,the CSTD exhibits better energy dissipation performance,more stable hysteretic response,and better uniformity in plastic deformation distributions.

Study on seismic response control of a single-tower self-anchored suspension bridge with elastic-plastic steel damper

Elastic-plastic steel damper(EPSD) is a new device controlling seismic responses.The mechanical principle of EPSD was presented and a comparison was conducted between the theoretical formulas and finite element(FE) simulation of damper units.The verified force-displacement hysteretic curve of the damper system was obtained with reference to tests.The Nanjing Jiangxinzhou Bridge(NJB) was subsequently taken as the case to investigate the seismic response control effect of EPSDs on single-tower self-anchored suspension bridges.A 3-dimensional FE model of the bridge was established in ANSYS and the dynamic and static analyses of the bridge were conducted,the control effect of EPSDs under different seismic waves was further investigated through nonlinear time-history analysis based on the validated model.Results showed that both the simplified theoretical and FE simulation methods can preferable reflect the mechanical performance of EPSD,and that seismic responses of NJB with EPSDs are better than those with elastic connection device or fluid viscous damper.However,the control effect of EPSDs is influenced by seismic wave characteristics.