Performance Analysis and Seismic Response Control Study of Self-Centering Variable Friction Damper

A novel self-centering variable friction damper (SC-VFD) was designed, which has the characteristics of high bearing capacity and good durability. This damper has a dual self-centering mechanism, which can provide restoring force via a coil spring under small earthquakes, as well as restoring force via a coil spring and a disc spring under medium or large earthquakes. In addition, this damper has variable friction capacity under different earthquakes. The configuration and the working mechanism of the SC-VFD was studied, and the mechanical model was established; then, finite element analysis of the SC-VFD was carried out. The results show that the SC-VFD has good self-centering performance and energy dissipation capacity; the residual displacement could be controlled by adjusting the preload and the stiffness of the disc spring; the hysteresis curves obtained through theoretical calculation and numerical simulation are in good agreement, verifying the correctness of the theoretical model and the finite element model. Finally, a four-story steel frame structure was designed for seismic performance analysis in order to verify the effect of the SC-VFD on the energy dissipation and vibration reduction of the frame structure. The results show that the vibration reduction rates of the SC-VFD can reach 33% under frequent earthquakes and 51% under rare earthquakes. Therefore, the SC-VFD has good seismic effects and can be applied to increase the resilience of building structures.