Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis and Simplified One-Dimensional Analysis Methods for Full-Scale Viscoelastic Damper Considering Strain Sensitivity

Viscoelastic (VE) dampers are capable of dissipating energy over a variety of input vibration frequencies. They supplement both displacement- and velocity-dependent restoring forces, thus, provide both stiffness and damping to the structure. For this, they are able to effectively mitigate both frequently occurring wind loads and seismic forces. They are sensitive to loading frequency, temperature, and strain level. Their combined sensitivity to both loading frequency and temperature is extensively researched through three-dimensional finite element (3D-FE) methods considering heat generation and transfer. However, they can experience a significant nonlinear reduction in dynamic mechanical properties under large strain levels. Pursuant to these, the previously developed 3D-FE method is extended in this study by combining with a nonlinear strain level–sensitive constitutive rule to investigate the behavior of a full-scale multilayer VE damper. This nonlinear 3D analysis method agrees accurately well with experimental results. Additionally, the 3D-FE analysis results suggest an approach to one-dimensional (1D) time-history analysis. Despite of large strain level, the energy dissipation obtained from 3D-FE analysis is uniform, further suggesting a framework for a simplified 1D approach, that is, considering uniform strain distribution. These 1D methods accurately predict VE damper global responses.