• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.493-515
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• 2008

Semi-active control systems have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years because these systems can operate on battery power alone, proving advantageous during seismic events when the main power source of the structure may likely fail. The behavior of semi-active devices is often highly non-linear and requires suitable and efficient control algorithm. This paper presents the comparative study and performance of variable semi-active friction dampers by using recently proposed predictive control law with direct output feedback. In this control law, the variable slip force of semi-active variable friction damper is kept slightly lower than the critical friction force, which allows the damper to remain in the slip state during an earthquake, resulting in improved energy dissipation capability. This control algorithm is able to produce a continuous and smooth slip forces for a variable friction damper. The numerical examples include a structure controlled with multiple variable semi-active friction dampers and with multiple passive friction dampers. A parameter, gain multiplier defined as the ratio of damper force to critical damper control force, is investigated under four different real earthquake ground motions, which plays an important role in the present control algorithm of the damper. The numerically evaluated optimum parametric value is considered for the analysis of the structure with dampers. The numerical results of the variable friction dampers show better performance over the passive dampers in reducing the seismic response of structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.239-248
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• 2017

Friction dampers are displacement dependent energy dissipation devices which dissipate earthquake energy through friction mechanism and widely used in improving the seismic behavior of new structures and rehabilitation of existing structures. In this paper, the cyclic behavior of a friction damper with different friction materials is investigated through experimental tests under cyclic loading. The damper is made of steel plates, friction pads, preloaded bolts and hard washers. The paper aims at investigating the hysteretic behavior of three friction materials under cyclic loading to be utilized in friction damper. The tested friction materials are: powder lining, super lining and metal lining. The experimental results are studied according to FEMA-356 acceptance criteria and the most appropriate friction material is selected by comparing all friction materials results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.227-241
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• 2018

The present paper deals with the optimum performance of the passive hybrid control system for the benchmark highway bridge under the six earthquakes ground motion. The investigation is carried out on a simplified finite element model of the 91/5 highway overcrossing located in Southern California. A viscous fluid damper (known as VFD) or non-linear fluid viscous spring damper has been used as a passive supplement device associated with polynomial friction pendulum isolator (known as PFPI) to form a passive hybrid control system. A parametric study is considered to find out the optimum parameters of the PFPI system for the optimal response of the bridge. The effect of the velocity exponent of the VFD and non-linear FV spring damper on the response of the bridge is carried out by considering different values of velocity exponent. Further, the influences of damping coefficient and vibration period of the dampers are also examined on the response of the bridge. To study the effectiveness of the passive hybrid system on the response of the isolated bridge, it is compared with the corresponding PFPI isolated bridges. The investigation showed that passive supplement damper such as VFD or non-linear FV spring damper associated with PFPI system is significantly reducing the seismic response of the benchmark highway bridge. Further, it is also observed that non-linear FV spring damper hybrid system is a more promising strategy in reducing the response of the bridge compared to the VFD associated hybrid system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.8
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• pp.953-974
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• 2010

The performance of variable dampers for seismic protection of the benchmark highway bridge (phase I) under six real earthquake ground motions is presented. A simplified lumped mass finite-element model of the 91/5 highway bridge in Southern California is used for the investigation. A variable damper, developed from magnetorheological (MR) damper is used as a semi-active control device and its effectiveness with friction force schemes is investigated. A velocity-dependent damping model of variable damper is used. The effects of friction damping of the variable damper on the seismic response of the bridge are examined by taking different values of friction force, step-coefficient and transitional velocity of the damper. The seismic responses with variable dampers are compared with the corresponding uncontrolled case, and controlled by alternate sample control strategies. The results of investigation clearly indicate that the base shear, base moment and mid-span displacement are substantially reduced. In particular, the reduction in the bearing displacement is quite significant. The friction and the two-step friction force schemes of variable damper are found to be quite effective in reducing the peak response quantities of the bridge to a level similar to or better than that of the sample passive, semi-active and active controllers.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.489-506
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• 2018

This paper reported test of full-scale cables attached with four types of dampers: viscous damper, passive Magneto-Rheological (MR) damper, friction damper and High Damping Rubber (HDR) damper. The logarithmic decrements of the cable with attached dampers were calculated from free vibration time history. The efficiency ratios of the mean damping ratios of the tested four dampers to theoretical maximum damping ratio were derived, which was very important for practical damper design and parameter optimization. Non-ideal factors affecting damper performance were discussed based on the test results. The effects of concentrated mass and negative stiffness were discussed in detail and compared theoretically. Approximate formulations were derived and verified using numerical solutions. The critical values for non-dimensional concentrated mass coefficient and negative stiffness were identified. Efficiency ratios were approximately 0.6, 0.6, and 0.3 for the viscous damper, passive MR damper and HDR damper, respectively. The efficiency ratio for the friction damper was between 0-1.0. The effects of concentrated mass and negative stiffness on cable damping were positive as both could increase damping ratio; the concentrated mass was more effective than negative stiffness for higher vibration modes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.6
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• pp.739-750
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• 2023

This study examines the two-level behavior of the toggle brace damper within a steel frame having a yielding pipe damper and rotational friction damper. The proposed system has two kinds of fuse for energy dissipation in two stages. In this mechanism, rotational friction damper rather than hinged connection is used in toggle brace system, connected to a pipe damper with a limited gap. In order to create a gap, bolted connection with the slotted hole is used, such that first a specific movement of the rotational friction damper solely is engaged but with an increase in movement, the yielding damper is also involved. The performance of the system is such that at the beginning of loading the rotational friction damper, as the first fuse, absorbs energy and with increasing the input load and further movement of the frame, yielding damper as the second fuse, along with rotational friction damper would dissipate the input energy. The models created by ABAQUS are subjected to cyclic and seismic loading. Considering the results obtained, the flexibility of the hybrid two-level system is more comparable to the conventional toggle brace damper. Moreover, this system sustains longer lateral displacements. The energy dissipation of these two systems is modeled in multi-story frames in SAP2000 software and their performance is analyzed using time-history analysis. According to the results, permanent relocations of the roof in the two-level system, in comparison with toggle brace damper system in 2, 5, and 8-story building frames, in average, decrease by 15, 55, and 37% respectively. This amount in a 5-story building frame under the earthquakes with one-third scale decreases by 64%.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.35-42
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• 2017

This study develops a new hybrid passive energy dissipation device for seismic rehabilitation of an existing structure. The device is composed of a friction damper combined with a steel plate with vertical slits as a hysteretic damper. Analytical model is developed for the device, and the capacity of the hybrid device to satisfy a given target performance is determined based on the ASCE/SEI 7-10 process. The effect of the device is verified by nonlinear dynamic analyses using seven earthquake records. The analysis results show that the dissipated inelastic energy is concentrated on the hybrid damper and the maximum interstory drift of the SMRF with damping system satisfies the requirement of the current code.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.85-105
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• 2006

Control of structural response due to seismic excitation in a manner of coupling adjacent buildings has been actively developed, and most attention focused on those buildings of similar height. However, with the rapid development of some modern cities, multi-story buildings constructed with an auxiliary low-rise podium structure to provide extra functions to the complex become a growing construction scheme. Being inspired by the positively examined coupling control approach for buildings with similar height, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive analytical study on control effectiveness of using friction dampers to link the two buildings with significant height difference to supplement the recent experimental investigation carried out by the writers. The analytical model of a coupled building system is first developed with passive friction dampers being modeled as Coulomb friction. To highlight potential advantage of coupling the main building and podium structure with control devices that provide a lower degree of coupling, the inherent demerit of rigid-coupled configuration is then evaluated. Extensive parametric studies are finally performed. The concerned parameters influencing the design of optimal friction force and control efficiency include variety of earthquake excitation and differences in floor mass, story number as well as number of dampers installed between the two buildings. In general, the feasibility of interaction control approach applied to the complex structure for vibration reduction due to seismic excitation is supported by positive results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.741-757
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• 2008

The research field of structural control has evolved from the development of passive devices since 1970s, through the intensive investigation on active systems in 1980s, to the recent studies of semi-active control systems in 1990s. Currently semi-active control is considered most promising in civil engineering applications. However, actual implementation of semi-active devices is still limited due mainly to their system maintenance and associated long-term reliability as a result of power requirement. In this paper, the concept of functionally upgraded passive devices is introduced to streamline some of the state-of-the-art researches and guide the development of new passive devices that can mimic the function of their corresponding semi-active control devices for various applications. The general characteristics of this special group of passive devices are discussed and representative examples are summarized. Their superior performances are illustrated with cyclic and shake table tests of two example devices: mass-variable tuned liquid damper and friction-pendulum bearing with a variable sliding surface curvature.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.565-577
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• 2019

One of the most effective countermeasures for mitigating cable vibration is to install mechanical dampers near the anchorage of the cable. Most of the dampers used in the field are so-called passive dampers where their parameters cannot be changed once designed. The parameters of passive dampers are usually determined based on the optimal damper force obtained from the universal design curve for linear dampers, which will provide a maximum additional damping for the cable. As the optimal damper force is chosen based on a predetermined principal vibration mode, passive dampers will be most effective if cable undergoes single-mode vibration where the vibration mode is the same as the principal mode used in the design. However, in the actual engineering practice, multi-mode vibrations are often observed for cables. Therefore, it is desirable to have dampers that can suppress different modes of cable vibrations simultaneously. In this paper, MR dampers are proposed for controlling multi-mode cable vibrations, because of its ability to change parameters and its adaptability of active control without inquiring large power resources. Although the highly nonlinear feature of the MR material leads to a relatively complex representation of its mathematical model, effective control strategies can still be derived for suppressing multi-mode cable vibrations based on nonlinear modelling, as proposed in this paper. Firstly, the nonlinear Bouc-wen model is employed to accurately portray the salient characteristics of the MR damper. Then, the desired optimal damper force is determined from the universal design curve of friction dampers. Finally, the input voltage (current) of MR damper corresponding to the desired optimal damper force is calculated from the nonlinear Bouc-wen model of the damper using a piecewise linear interpolation scheme. Numerical simulations are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm for mitigating multi-mode cable vibrations induced by different external excitations.