ASSESSMENT OF THE RESPONSE OF FRICTION DAMPERS SUBJECTED TO HIGH STRAIN RATES

The aim of this paper is to provide a contribution to the knowledge of steel connections subjected to rapidly applied dynamic loads up to failure. In particular, the attention is focused on the behaviour of the dissipative component of a friction joint, i.e. the friction damper. An analytical model based on the component method of the Eurocode 3 part 1-8, able to predict the behaviour of the friction damper up to failure when subjected to static and dynamic loading, is presented. The effects of the loading rate on the resistance and ductility of the friction damper were implemented in the behaviour of each component composing the damper. The accuracy of the model was checked against experimental results and FE simulations, showing that this procedure is sufficiently accurate in describing the force-deformation curves of these devices under both static and dynamic loading.