Abstract
In this study, a restoring viscous damper is introduced for X-type damper system which is designed for the seismic response control of large spatial structures. A nonlinear numerical model for its behavior is developed using the result of dynamic loading tests. The X-type damper system is composed of restoring viscous dampers and connecting devices such as adjustable wire bracing, where the damping capacity of the system is controllable by changing the number of the dampers. The restoring viscous damper is devised to exert main damping force in tension direction, which is effective to prevent the buckling of bracing subjected to compressive axial force. To evaluate the performance of the proposed damper, dynamic cyclic loading tests are performed by using manufactured dampers at full scale. In order to construct the numerical model of the damper system, its model parameters are first identified using a nonlinear curve fitting method with the test data. The numerical simulations are then performed to validate the accuracy of the numerical model in comparison with the experimental test results. It is expected that the proposed system is effectively applicable to various building structures for seismic performance enhancement.