Experimental investigation of novel pre-compressed viscoelastic dampers with different matrix materials

Abstract

In this paper, a novel pre-compressed viscoelastic damper with polyurethane-based piezoelectric damping composite material matrix is proposed. The damper mainly consists of the piezoelectric damping material matrix, steel plates, splints, and bolts, in which the pre-compression can be provided by bolts between the splints. By varying three influencing parameters of displacement amplitude, excitation frequency, and temperature, the dynamic mechanical properties of a total of 6 viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) were cyclically tested. The seismic behavior and vibration-resilient performance were evaluated by varying the viscoelastic damping material matrix and structural form. The experimental results show that the VED based on piezoelectric composite material matrix has a plumper hysteresis loop and better energy dissipation capacity. Moreover, the analyses illustrate that the pre-compression can improve the mechanical properties of the VED. In addition, the study of signal-to-noise ratio also reveals that the VED based on piezoelectric composite material matrix has excellent energy dissipation capability. The novel pre-compressed VED based on piezoelectric composite material matrix shows promising application prospects in vibration control.