Development of a novel semi-active friction damper using the change in the direction of the frictional force

Theoretical and numerical study of the damping characteristics

Abstract

To clarify the feasibility of a novel friction damper, its damping characteristics were investigated theoretically and numerically. The proposed damper solve a problem of the conventional friction damper, which is the discontinuous change in the damping force at the end of the stroke, by giving a sliding orthogonal to the stroke direction. In the results of the analysis, following conclusions are drawn: (1) the proposed damper has characteristics that are intermediate between a friction damper and a viscous damper; (2) the characteristics are controlled by the sliding velocity orthogonal to the direction of the stroke.