Hysteretic behavior simulation of novel rhombic mild steel dampers

Structural vibration control technique is an appropriate and acceptable method to control structural vibration condition and dissipate structural vibration energy during severe earthquakes and violent winds. Metallic dampers are verified to be stable and effective for passive control by many scholars and engineers. Low-yield-point (LYP) steel provides a promising prospect for energy dissipation dampers widely applied in structural engineering practice. Experimental study was conducted on a novel rhombic steel plate damper in former research and numerical simulation of the hysteretic behavior of rhombic dampers was performed in this study. Mechanical performance and implementation of the novel rhombic steel plate damper is briefly introduced in this paper. The hysteretic behavior of the novel rhombic steel plate dampers made of three types of steel was investigated by testing and finite element method. It is concluded that the yield strength enhancement of the rhombic steel damper made of LYP steel is substantial. The numerical simulation results of the hysteretic behavior of the rhombic steel plate damper are similar to the experimental results for these three types of steel. The energy dissipation capability of rhombic LYP steel dampers is excellent and adequate to be used in passive control strategy for civil engineering structures

Non-linear fe modelling of seismic pounding and damped-mitigating interconnection between a r/c tower and a masonry church

The finite element analysis of pounding represents one of the most critical issues for the assessment of the seismic performance of R/C structures built at poor distance from adjacent buildings. The effects of pounding can be particularly severe in slender R/C heritage structures, including civic or bell towers. An emblematic case study falling in this class of structures, i.e. a monumental R/C bell tower constructed in the early 1960s in Florence, is analyzed in this paper. Pounding collisions are simulated with a multi-link viscoelastic contact model originally implemented in this study. The results of the non-linear dynamic enquiry carried out with this model show that pounding affects the seismic response of the bell tower and the adjacent church as early as an input seismic action scaled at the amplitude of the normative basic design earthquake level. A retrofit hypothesis to prevent pounding is then proposed, which consists in linking the two structures by means of a pair of fluid-viscous dissipaters. Thanks to the supplemental damping action produced by these devices, the impacts are totally annulled, bringing the structural members of the tower to safe levels

Study of providing omnidirectional vibration isolation to entire space shuttle payload packages

Techniques to provide omnidirectional vibration isolation for a space shuttle payload package were investigated via a reduced-scale model. Development, design, fabrication, assembly and test evaluation of a 0.125-scale isolation model are described. Final drawings for fabricated mechanical components are identified, and prints of all drawings are included

Passive-performance, analysis, and upgrades of a 1-ton seismic attenuation system

The 10m Prototype facility at the Albert-Einstein-Institute (AEI) in Hanover, Germany, employs three large seismic attenuation systems to reduce mechanical motion. The AEI Seismic-Attenuation-System (AEI-SAS) uses mechanical anti-springs in order to achieve resonance frequencies below 0.5Hz. This system provides passive isolation from ground motion by a factor of about 400 in the horizontal direction at 4Hz and in the vertical direction at 9Hz. The presented isolation performance is measured under vacuum conditions using a combination of commercial and custom-made inertial sensors. Detailed analysis of this performance led to the design and implementation of tuned dampers to mitigate the effect of the unavoidable higher order modes of the system. These dampers reduce RMS motion substantially in the frequency range between 10 and 100Hz in 6 degrees of freedom. The results presented here demonstrate that the AEI-SAS provides substantial passive isolation at all the fundamental mirror-suspension resonances

Eddy current damper

A high torque capacity eddy current damper used as a rate limiting device for a large solar array deployment mechanism is discussed. The eddy current damper eliminates the problems associated with the outgassing or leaking of damping fluids. It also provides performance advantages such as damping torque rates, which are truly linear with respect to input speed, continuous 360 degree operation in both directions of rotation, wide operating temperature range, and the capability of convenient adjustment of damping rates by the user without disassembly or special tools

Lightweight solar panel development

Preliminary design, fabrication, and test of lightweight solar panel of built-up beryllium structure with 29 sq ft active cell are

Energy-Dissipation Performance of Combined Low Yield Point Steel Plate Damper Based on Topology Optimization and Its Application in Structural Control

In view of the disadvantages such as higher yield stress and inadequate adjustability, a combined low yield point steel plate damper involving low yield point steel plates and common steel plates is proposed. Three types of combined plate dampers with new hollow shapes are proposed, and the specific forms include interior hollow, boundary hollow, and ellipse hollow. The “maximum stiffness” and “full stress state” are used as the optimization objectives, and the topology optimization of different hollow forms by alternating optimization method is to obtain the optimal shape. Various combined steel plate dampers are calculated by finite element simulation, the results indicate that the initial stiffness of the boundary optimized damper and interior optimized damper is lager, the hysteresis curves are full, and there is no stress concentration. These two types of optimization models made in different materials rations are studied by numerical simulation, and the adjustability of yield stress of these combined dampers is verified. The nonlinear dynamic responses, seismic capacity, and damping effect of steel frame structures with different combined dampers are analyzed. The results show that the boundary optimized damper has better energy-dissipation capacity and is suitable for engineering application

Shake table testing of a tuned mass damper inerter (Tmdi)-equipped structure and nonlinear dynamic modeling under harmonic excitations

This paper presents preliminary experimental results from a novel shaking table testing campaign investigating the dynamic response of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) physical specimen with a grounded inerter under harmonic base excitation and contributes a nonlinear dynamic model capturing the behavior of the test specimen. The latter consists of a primary mass connected to the ground through a high damping rubber isolator (HDRI) and a secondary mass connected to the primary mass through a second HDRI. Further, a flywheel-based rack-and-pinion inerter prototype device is used to connect the secondary mass to the ground. The resulting specimen resembles the tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) configuration with grounded inerter analytically defined and numerically assessed by the authors in a number of previous publications. Physical specimens with three different inerter coefficients are tested on the shake table under sine-sweep excitation with three different amplitudes. Experimental frequency response functions (FRFs) are derived manifesting a softening nonlinear behavior of the specimens and enhanced vibration suppression with increased inerter coefficient. Further, a 2DOF parametric nonlinear model of the specimen is established accounting for non-ideal inerter device behavior and its potential to characterize experimental response time-histories, FRFs, and force-displacement relationships of the HDRIs and of the inerter is verified

Design and Fabrication of the NASA Decoupler Pylon for the F-16 Aircraft

The NASA Decoupler Pylon is a passive means of suppressing wing-store flutter. The feasibility of demonstrating this concept on the F-16 aircraft was established through model wind tunnel tests and analyses. As a result of these tests and studies a ship set of Decoupler Pylons was designed and fabricated for a flight test demonstration on the F-16 aircraft. Basic design criteria were developed during the analysis study pertaining to pylon pitch stiffness, alignment system requirements, and damping requirements. A design was developed which utilized an electrical motor for the pylon alignment system. The design uses a four pin, two link pivot design which results in a remote pivot located at the center of gravity of the store when the store is in the aligned position. The pitch spring was fabricated from a tapered constant stress cantilevered beam. The pylon has the same external lines as the existing production pylon and is designed to use a MAU-12 ejection rack which is the same as the one used with the production pylon. The detailed design and fabrication was supported with a complete ground test of the pylon prior to shipment to NASA