Numerical Simulation and Shake Table Test on the Seismic Performance of the Combined Viscous-Steel Damping System

The hybrid damping device, which adopts a combination of various types of dampers, has received substantial interest from the structural seismic mitigation community due to its high performance. A hybrid device so-called the Combined Viscous-Steel Damping System (CVSDS) is proposed and evaluated in this paper, consisting of a viscous fluid damper (VFD), a steel yielding damper (SYD), and a mechanical fuse-lock device (FLD). It aims to alleviate the multi-level seismic vibrations by applying different dampers. The detailed configurations and operating mechanisms of the CVSDS are introduced, followed by the theoretical analysis to develop the simulation method. Shake table tests are conducted based on a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system equipped with CVSDS. The results show that the proposed analytical model is feasible in describing the fuse-lock function and hysteresis performance of CVSDS. The fuse-lock device can be successfully triggered during seismic-induced movements when the generated damping force of FVD exceeds the preset locking force. The effectiveness of CVSDS in mitigating the vibration caused by seismic excitations is remarkable. The numerical result shows good consistency with the experimental data when considering the clearance effect caused by assembly and machining errors in the simulation.