Numerical study of yielding shear panel device for passive control of structures

This paper describes development of a shear type metallic passive damper designed for earthquake risk mitigation for civil structures. The damper consists of a short length square hollow section with a steel diaphragm plate welded inside it. It is designed to fit between floor beam and a K-brace such that relative movement between the connected sides of the damper produces a shearing action onto the diaphragm plate. Mechanism analysis is first described, followed by numerical investigation. Results show that diaphragm plate slenderness ratio and the SHS wall thickness influence the energy dissipation capability. Appropriate combinations of SHS and diaphragm plate will yield a good passive damper which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install and replace.