Experimental and numerical study of a hollow laminated viscoelastomer-filled steel tube damper for seismic application

Abstract

This study proposed a hollow laminated viscoelastomer-filled steel tube damper (HLVSTD), which consists of a hollow laminated viscoelastomer, a steel tube, and two connection end plates. Three HLVSTD specimens and two solid laminated viscoelastomer-filled steel tube dampers (SLVSTD) were designed based on the fabrication processes and the laminated viscoelastomer. Cyclic loading tests were carried out to investigate their energy dissipation performance, mechanical behavior, failure mode, and cyclic loading behavior. The fabrication processes more conducive to damper energy dissipation performance was given. Then, numerical models were established in ABAQUS and verified by the experimental test. Further numerical analysis was conducted to gain insight into the working mechanism and stress distribution of the HLVSTD. Finally, the bilinear model and Bouc-Wen model were compared to better capture the hysteretic response of the damper. The results indicate that HLVSTD has stable hysteresis behavior, the maximum equivalent viscous damping ratio is 44.31%. Hollow laminated viscoelastomer and solid laminated viscoelastomer can effectively prevent steel tube buckling. Compared to the SLVSTD, the HLVSTD has a higher energy dissipation capacity and saves 16% raw materials. The steel tube of cambered surface achieved full cross-section yielding, which is beneficial to improve energy dissipation capacity and ensure reliable end connection. The calculation results of the initial stiffness and the yield force agreed well with the test results. The Bouc-Wen model is suggested for capturing the mechanical behavior of the proposed HLVSTD in the real seismic application.