Shaking table test on a scaled 4-storey frame structure with vibration control system using pulley mechanism

This study applied a novel seismic vibration control system that utilizes the pulley displacement amplification mechanism combined with a new rotary viscous damper to a scaled four-storey frame structure. By utilizing the cumulative amplified displacements of wires stretched across multiple storeys, the proposed system efficiently absorbs energy with damper, thereby maximizing its energy dissipation capacity. The constitutive model and equation of this pulley damper system was derived to account for the effects of pulley friction on the system's performance. A series of shaking table tests were conducted under four different scaled seismic wave excitations. The damping performance was evaluated by comparing the structural responses for various wire configurations and different numbers of wires under the same wire configuration. The experimental results confirmed the principle of displacement amplification through the pulley and wire system, demonstrating its effectiveness in amplifying structural displacements and transmitting them to the damper, thereby enhancing the damper's performance. Moreover, the findings indicated that the pulley damper system can significantly control the vibrations of the structure under seismic excitations. In most scenarios, the incorporation of both wires and dampers resulted in a reduction in the maximum displacement response by over 50 % compared to the uncontrolled case. Additionally, computer software analysis was performed to compare the analytical results with the experimental data, confirming the validity of modeling the wires as an equivalent truss constitutive model for multi-storey structures across different wire configurations. • A widely applicable constitutive equation for the pulley damper system was proposed. • The shaking table tests of the four-storey frame structure with pulley damper system was conducted. • The response of the specimen equipped with the pulley damper system under various seismic waves was recorded and analyzed. • The effectiveness of the vibration control system based on the pulley amplification mechanism was validated. • The applicability of the constitutive model in multi-storey structures was confirmed through the software simulations.