Nonlinear Damping Amplifier Friction Bearings

Abstract This article introduces damping amplifiers integrated into the core material of conventional nonlinear friction base isolators to improve their vibration attenuation capabilities and mitigate their shortcomings. Four new types of damping amplifier friction bearings are introduced: levered, nested, compound, and damping. The H2 optimization strategy is utilized to obtain the closed-form analytical solution for the optimized designed parameters. The analytical investigation confirms the efficiency of the recently obtained closed-form equations for the optimal design parameters. The frequency response function was used to develop closed-form formulas for the isolator and main structure’s dynamic responses. The harmonic and random white noise excitation served as the basis. Furthermore, numerical analysis by considering real earthquake load has confirmed the novel isolators’ efficiency. The vibration reduction capacities of the H2 optimized damping amplifier friction bearings, compound damping amplifier friction bearings, nested damping amplifier friction bearings, and levered damping amplifier friction bearings are 76.1% superior to the optimum conventional base isolator. These findings demonstrate how the proposed designs may improve structural resistance to dynamic loads.