OPTIMIZATION DESIGN AND FEM VERIFICATION OF VARIABLE CURVATURE-FRICTION PENDULUM SYSTEMS

In order to meet the isolation demand of large-scale building structures under different earthquake action and long-period ground motion in particular, a new bidirectional variable curvature-friction pendulum bearing (BD VCFPB) was proposed, and designed in detail according to the basic principle of friction-pendulum bearing. Then, the influence of friction coefficients, influence coefficients of curvature, isolation periods and the stress states of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) plates on the properties of the bearings were further studied. Finally, a series of numerical simulations was conducted on the bearing by ABAQUS. The results showed that there was no separation between PTFE plates and sliding surfaces when the length of the contact area for sliders 2r was smaller; the PTFE plates were separated from the sliding surfaces when 2r was larger. The hysteretic curves of the bearings were a little different from the ones of the theoretical model at the design displacement. In the process of the slider sliding from the position of design displacement to the position of equilibrium, the hysteretic curves of the bearings on the convex arc segment were slightly different from the ones of the theoretical model, and the larger the 2r, the greater the difference. But as a whole, the hysteretic curves of the horizontal force and displacement for the bearings agreed well with the ones of the theoretical model.