Prediction of plastic strength of elliptical steel slit damper by finite element analysis

This paper presents a numerical study to develop a guideline for estimating the plastic strength of elliptical steel slit damper with reasonable accuracy. The strut width increases from middle to end in elliptical steel slit damper and it is observed from the past studies that variation of the width is not considered for calculating the plastic strength of the damper. It is also noticed that the existing formulas for predicting plastic strength of this kind of damper may not be accurate and further refinement is warranted. Study is then carried on elliptical steel slit damper made of mild steel and having different geometry to find out equivalency of it with oblong steel slit damper having similar plastic strength. A few three-dimensional finite element models of seismic moment connection system with steel slit damper are developed and validated against past experiments for carrying the present study considering both the material nonlinearity as well as geometric nonlinearity. The results of the parametric studies have been compared with energy quantities and presented graphically to better understand the effects of different parameters on the system. Based on the pattern of parametric study results, closed-form semi-empirical algebraic expression of damper plastic strength is developed for elliptical steel slit damper which shows very good agreement with finite element analysis as well as experiments. This developed expression can now be used for elliptical steel slit damper in replacement with any type of damper in the design of moment connection.