Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of a Winding Rope Fluid Viscous Damper

This paper investigated a winding rope fluid viscous damper (WRFVD) that uses the frictional amplification mechanism of a winding rope to obtain the operating characteristics of a viscous damper-like device. The WRFVD combined the advantages of fluid viscous dampers and friction dampers. It not only retained the mechanical characteristics of the fluid viscous damper but also reduced manufacturing costs. First, the construction and working principles of the WRFVD were introduced. A theoretical model that could accurately simulate the hysteretic characteristics of the damper was derived. Then, a series of dynamic tests were performed on six prototypes of the WRFVD. The dynamic performance under different displacement amplitudes and device parameters was analyzed based on the test results. In addition, the theoretical model was validated by experimental results. Finally, a series of parametric analyses of the WRFVD were performed. The experimental results showed that the WRFVD is a type of velocity-dependent damper with smooth and plump hysteretic curves under sinusoidal displacement excitation. Fatigue loading tests showed that the WRFVD had excellent fatigue resistance capacity and stable operational performance. The established theoretical model was reasonable and satisfactorily reproduced the hysteretic properties of the WRFVD. The parametric analyses showed that it was not recommended to improve the performance of the WRFVD by the method of adjusting the damping coefficient and pretightening load. It was reasonable to adjust the performance of the WRFVD by setting a smaller velocity exponent, an appropriate winding turn of winding ropes, and a suitable friction coefficient.