Vibration Control of Superelastic SMA Spring Braces to a Frame Structure under Earthquake Exciting

摘要

This paper studies the vibration control performance of a new type of superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) helical spring braces to a frame structure under an earthquake. To explore the vibration control performance of the proposed braces, a steel frame model and four SMA springs were made in the laboratory. Based on a stress-strain relationship of the SMA material, a mathematical model was developed to determine the nonlinear force-displacement relationship of the SMA helical springs under general dynamic load, and the model agreed with the test results very well. Then, a numerical simulation model of the frame with the new SMA spring braces was set up to get the seismic responses of the frame. To check the validity of the simulation model, a number of vibration tests were conducted. The experimental results are in very good agreement with the numerical results, and the proposed braces can greatly suppress structural vibrations. Therefore, it is expected that the SMA spring braces have a great potential for the vibration control of practical frame structures.