Abstract:
A novel self-centering friction energy dissipation brace composed of spring and wedge block is proposed by the grounds of the background of recoverable functional structures. The structural form and working principle of the brace were introduced, and the mechanical properties of the whole brace and its components were expounded. The feasibility of the structural design of the device was verified by cyclic tests and by finite element analysis, and its hysteretic characteristics, characteristic stiffness, characteristic load, and energy dissipation performance were compared and analyzed. The results show that the hysteretic curve of the self-resetting energy dissipation support based on the combination of spring and wedge block is a typical "flag shape", and that there is almost no residual deformation after multiple cyclic loads. Therefore, it has good self-resetting performance and stable working performance. The simulation analysis shows that the maximum difference between the test and simulated value of the yield load of specimen S1 is 27 %, and that the error of the maximum load, the restoring force load, and the stiffness is less than 10 %. The characteristic load and stiffness errors of the S2 and S3 specimens are less than 18 %. The numerical analysis results are in a good agreement with the experimental results. The ABAQUS finite element model can effectively reflect the working characteristics of the self-centering energy dissipation brace.