A Double Shape Memory Alloy Damper for Structural Vibration Control

Abstract

Shape memory alloy (SMA) dampers are widely investigated passive control systems for structural vibration mitigation. However, the damping robustness of conventional austenite SMA dampers may be affected by environmental temperature. In this study, an innovative double SMA damper (DSD) system is presented to improve the temperature robustness of the SMA dampers. In the proposed system, double SMA hysteretic elements with different phase transition temperatures are arranged in parallel, where the SMA element with lower transition temperature behaves as austenite under room temperature, and the other with higher transition temperature behaves as martensite. To study the vibration control effect, both single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structures with DSD systems are employed. The thermal and mechanical behaviors of the SMA elements and the working principle of DSD are also introduced. Thereon, the equivalent linearization method for SMA’s output force and the motion-governing equations for SDOF structure with DSD are derived. Moreover, parametric studies are conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed DSD system in both frequency and time domains. Also, numerical analysis for the MDOF structure with DSD systems is carried out to illustrate the trend in response reduction with an increasing number of degrees of freedom. The analytical results show that the DSD can mitigate the structural seismic response more effectively than the conventional one with acceptable residual deformation, and is capable of delaying the degradation of SMA’s energy dissipation capacity. Less SMA material is required for the proposed DSD to fulfill the same mitigation requirement, and it is suitable for general applications for temperature robustness.

Advances in Shape Memory Alloy-Based Reinforcement in Steel Structures: A Review

“…It can be seen that whether the damper is in tension or compression, the SMA bolts is in tension, as shown in Figure 14b, thus effectively avoiding the problem of SMA bar buckling. Jia et al [100] proposed an innovative double SMA damper system. In the proposed system, double SMA elements with different phase-transition temperatures are arranged in parallel.…”

“…As can be seen in Figure 17, the design concept of the brace is to provide stable energy dissipation through the friction system for the entire brace, and then utilize the SMA to as shown in Figure 14b, thus effectively avoiding the problem of SMA bar buckling. Jia et al [100] proposed an innovative double SMA damper system. In the proposed system, double SMA elements with different phase-transition temperatures are arranged in parallel.…”

Duo features of shape memory wire for resonant force sensing

“…Their unique thermomechanical property make them suitable for different domains like aerospace [9], biomedical [10], civil engineering [11] and earthquake engineering [12]. Owing to these distinctive properties, the alloys can be used to perform variety of tasks like damping (active and passive control of structures) [13,14], actuation [15,16], sensing [17,18], sensing and actuation in the firming up of reinforced concrete constructions [19] etc. Various compositions of SMAs like NiTi, CuZnAl, CuAlNi, NiMnGa, NiCoCu, TiHfZr have been emerged to be used for several fields [20,21].…”