This study focuses on experimental investigation of a fail-safe, bi-linear, liquid spring magnetorheological damper system for a three-dimensional earthquake isolation system. The device combines the controllable magnetorheological damping, fail-safe viscous damping, and liquid spring features in a single unit serving as the vertical component of a building isolation system. The bi-linear liquid spring feature provides two different stiffnesses in compression and rebound modes. The higher stiffness in the rebound mode prevents a possible overturning of the structure during rocking mode. For practical application, the device is to be stacked together along with the traditional elastomeric bearings that are currently used to absorb the horizontal ground excitations. An experimental setup is designed to reflect the real-life loading conditions. The 1/4th-scale device is exposed to combined dynamic axial loading (reflecting vertical seismic excitation) and constant shear force that are up to 245 and 28 kN, respectively. The results demonstrate that the device performs successfully under the combined axial and shear loadings and compare well with the theoretical calculations.
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Design of a fail-safe magnetorheological-based system for three-dimensional earthquake isolation of structures
This study presents a comprehensive design methodology for a magnetorheological-based damper device for a three-dimensional building isolation. The device acts as a suspension system itself by combining the liquid stiffness and controllable magnetorheological damping features in one unit. The bi-linear liquid stiffness feature enhances resistance to global rocking/overturning of the structural system by increasing the stiffness in the rebound mode compared to the compression mode. In the field, the system is combined with the conventional elastomeric bearings widely employed to mitigate the lateral seismic motions. During a seismic event, the system is subjected to dynamic vertical shaking and large lateral forces. The theoretical and simulation modeling to overcome this major challenge and achieve other system requirements are presented. In addition, a comprehensive optimization program is developed to achieve all design requirements. The modeling procedure is verified with experimental results. Also, the effectiveness of Displacement/Velocity-based control for a single degree-of-freedom system subjected to sinusoidal loading is evaluated.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1437003
- PAR ID:
- 10137115
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Mechatronics
- Volume:
- 64
- ISSN:
- 0957-4158
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 102296
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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