Experimental Evaluation of Hysteretic Behavior of Rhombic Steel Plate Dampers

Abstract

Rhombic mild-steel plate damper (also named rhombic added damping and Stiffness (RADAS)) is a newly proposed and developed bending energy dissipation damper in recent years, and its mechanical properties, seismic behavior, and engineering application still need further investigations. In order to determine the basic mechanical performance of RADAS, fundamental material properties tests of three types of mild-steel specimen including domestically developed mild-steel material with low yield strength were carried out. Then, a quasistatic loading test was performed to evaluate the mechanical performance and hysteretic energy dissipation capacity of these rhombic mild-steel dampers manufactured by aforementioned three types of steel materials. Test results show that yield strength of domestically developed low yield strength steel (LYS) is remarkably lower than that of regular mild steel and its ultimate strain is also 1/3 larger than that of regular mild steel, indicating that the low yield strength steel has a favorable plastic deformation capability. The rhombic mild-steel plate damper with low yield strength steel material possesses smaller yield force and superior hysteretic energy dissipation capacity; thus they can be used to reduce engineering structural vibration and damage during strong earthquakes.