Research on a New High-Damping Viscoelastic Damper: Development, Experiment and Modeling

Viscoelastic (VE) dampers are promising control devices for mitigating the vibration of structures. The performance of these dampers depends on the energy dissipation and deformation capability of VE materials. This paper aims to develop a VE damper with high damping to improve the energy dissipation performance of existing dampers. A new VE material with high damping was developed and tested for its shear mechanical properties. A total response control viscoelastic (TRC-VE) damper was designed and manufactured using the new high-damping VE material. The performance of the TRC-VE damper was comprehensively investigated in terms of strain, frequency and size dependence. A five-element shear mechanical model was proposed to simulate the shear mechanical behavior of the TRC-VE damper. Results indicated that the TRC-VE damper has remarkable energy dissipation and excellent deformation capacities. The five-element shear mechanical model can accurately simulate the shear mechanical properties of the new high-damping TRC-VE damper.