Performance and optimum design of replaceable steel strips in an innovative metallic damper

In this study, a high efficiency metallic damper with replaceable steel strips and the adjustable construction is proposed for framed structures. The proposed damper uses bolted steel strips as the energy dissipation fuses, which can be adjusted or replaced after failure without affecting the connecting part. The steel strips participate in the load bearing and energy dissipation through an in-plane bending mechanism. In addition, to exert the load bearing and achieve the potential plasticity fully, the steel strips are desired to yield simultaneously and dissipate energy throughout the entire section. In this paper, the primary configuration design method was provided through a theoretical derivation. Further, the nonlinear performance of the proposed fuse strips was evaluated through a series of quasi-static cyclic tests. The influence of the configuration dimensions was investigated through the experimental study and corresponding finite element analyses. The results indicate that the strips successfully exert their potential energy dissipation with pump hysteresis loops. The fuse strips can better participate in the energy dissipation through bending-dominated working mode, and the bending moment strength of the steel strip is mainly controlled based on the width of the central region. The configuration of the transition region greatly affects the failure mode, the plasticity distribution, and the deformation capability. Based on the test data and the numerical simulation investigations, some primary design guidance for the fuse steel strips is suggested.