Experimental and numerical study on a new type of lead shear damper

This paper proposes a novel lead shear damper (LSD) composed of lead blocks surrounded by laminated steel shims and rubber sheets. The configuration and shock absorption mechanism of LSDs are thoroughly elucidated. Additionally, these innovative lead dampers undergo cyclic loading and fatigue tests, demonstrating commendable energy dissipation capacity and fatigue performance. Based on the test findings, a uniaxial constitutive model is introduced to characterize the hysteretic behaviour of LSDs, with corresponding parameters determined using the differential evolution method. The substantial agreement between experimental data and numerical simulations confirms the accuracy of the proposed uniaxial constitutive model, utilizing material parameters derived from the differential evolution method, which can be used for further study.