Effects of Loading Rates on the Hysteretic Response of Resilient Variable Friction Dampers

A novel resilient variable friction damper (RVFD) with a simple construction was proposed. To analyze the effects of loading rate on the stability and energy dissipation performance of the RVFD, two RVFDs were tested under different loading rates and the hysteretic behaviors of the compared with that of the traditional constant friction dampers. Then the peak force, energy dissipation behavior, uneven gap opening of the grooved outer plates (GOPs), and performance of the disc springs under different loading rates were studied. The results show that although no self-centering system was provided, only the RVFDs without a self-centering system still can exhibit stable self-centering performance and effective energy dissipation behaviors, especially with due to the using e of athe grooved steel plates with greater groove angle. When the loading rate is less than 10 mm/s, the peak forces of the RVFD slightly decrease with the increase in loading rates, while when the loading rate is greater than 10 mm/s, its effects could be neglected. The uneven gap opening of the GOPs influences the clamping forces of the disc springs in the bolts under different loading amplitudes. The disc springs in the RVFDs not only provide the increasing clamping forces for energy dissipation and the restoring forces for self-centering behavior, but also dissipate the energy, which accounts for about 10% of the total energy dissipation of the RVFD.