Mechanical properties of a novel friction dampers incorporated with buckling restrained shape memory alloy bars

To improve the energy dissipation and self-resetting ability of bridge structures under strong earthquakes, a new buckling-restrained SMA bar-based friction damper (SFD) is proposed. The damper is composed of buckling-restrained super-elastic SMA bars, friction pads, and a steel frame. The buckling-restrained SMA bars provide self-reset capability, while the friction pads provide additional energy dissipation capacity. Firstly, the configuration, working mechanism, and restoring force model of the SMA bar-based friction damper are introduced. Secondly, a specimen of the damper is made, and the pseudo-static test is carried out. Finally, the experimental results are analyzed based on the Abaqus finite element model. The results indicate that the damper has better self-resetting ability and energy dissipation capacity.