S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper (SSPD) under cyclic loading Abaqus

Product Overview

In this example, we intend to simulate the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper (SSPD) under cyclic loading in the Abaqus software.

The SSPD is a metallic structural fuse consisting of two S-shaped steel plates. The damper is designed to dissipate seismic energy through the inelastic deformation of its S-shaped plates and can be installed using bolted connections.

At relatively small displacements, the S-shaped plates primarily undergo flexural deformation. As the displacement increases, the curved plates gradually straighten and the deformation shifts toward flexural–tensile behavior, resulting in increased stiffness and strength at larger displacements.

The Abaqus results are compared with the experimental results to evaluate the ability of the numerical model to reproduce the main cyclic behavior, deformation, and flexural–tensile response of the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper.

Laboratory and Abaqus Models

As you observe in the picture, the laboratory sample includes two dampers, one at the top and one at the bottom of the model.The cyclic loading is applied to the model through the Shaft Plate.

In this project, the S3 specimen is modeled in Abaqus based on the experimental test.

Since the model is symmetric, only half of the model is simulated in Abaqus. In fact, only the bottom damper is modeled in the numerical analysis.

Cyclic Loading

In this problem, cyclic loading is applied to the model through the Shaft Plate to investigate the hysteretic behavior of the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper.

The cyclic loading history is defined in Abaqus using the corresponding amplitude data.

Force-Displacement Hysteresis Diagram

After applying the cyclic loading, the Force-Displacement hysteresis diagram is obtained from the Abaqus results.

As you observe in the picture, the Force-Displacement hysteresis diagram obtained from the Abaqus software is compared with the results gained from laboratory tests.

The increase in stiffness at larger displacements can also be observed in the hysteresis response as the deformation mechanism changes from predominantly flexural behavior to flexural–tensile behavior.

Deformation of the Damper

The deformation and cyclic response of the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper can be observed in the following picture.

Flexural–Tensile Behavior

The deformation mechanism of the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper changes as the applied displacement increases.

At relatively small displacements, the S-shaped plate primarily undergoes flexural deformation, allowing the damper to dissipate energy through inelastic bending of the curved plate.

As the displacement increases, the curved plate gradually becomes straighter and the deformation shifts toward a flexural–tensile behavior.

This change in deformation mechanism produces an increase in the stiffness and strength of the damper at larger displacements, which can be observed in the force–displacement response obtained from Abaqus.

Validation

This project has been validated, which means that the results obtained from the Abaqus software are similar to the results reported in the reference article.

In other words, this project is based on the reference article, and the numerical model has been developed to reproduce the experimental behavior of the S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper under cyclic loading.

What You Will Learn

• How to model an S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper (SSPD) in Abaqus.
• How to model a Metallic Structural Fuse.
• How to use symmetry to simplify the numerical model.
• How to model only half of a symmetric damper.
• How to define the Shaft Plate.
• How to define the material properties.
• How to define the boundary conditions.
• How to apply cyclic loading.
• How to define the cyclic loading amplitude.
• How to obtain the Force-Displacement hysteresis diagram.
• How to investigate the deformation of the damper.
• How to compare Abaqus results with laboratory test results.
• How to validate the numerical model using the reference article.

Key Features

• S-Shaped Steel Plate Damper (SSPD) modeling in Abaqus.
• Metallic Structural Fuse analysis.
• Cyclic loading analysis.
• Force-Displacement hysteresis analysis.
• Symmetric model simplification.
• Comparison between Abaqus and laboratory test results.
• Validation against the reference article.
• Complete Abaqus CAE file.
• Abaqus INP file.
• Excel file (Amplitude loading).
• Excel file (Results).
• Reference research paper.
• Step-by-step video tutorial.

Reference

This project is based on the reference research article. The paper is included with the project files and can be used to review the experimental model, cyclic loading protocol, and reported results.