Development of novel high damping rubber damper under axial compression dynamic load for energy-dissipation application

High Damping Rubber (HDR) has been a reliable and durable material used in bearings as seismic isolation devices for several decades. However, there has been no development of HDR as dampers to mitigate structural response caused by earthquake excitations, specifically by dissipating the induced energy applied to structures under direct axial load. This paper aims to address this gap by developing a novel HDR damper utilizing Hyper Elastic Composite Material (HECM) and conducting experimental investigations to determine its damping ratio, compressibility, and elasticity behaviour under axial dynamic compression load for effective dissipation of dy-namic loads. The research methodology involved performing response spectrum analysis (RSA) on a model of actual building structures, following the guidelines of National Annex to MS EN 1998-2017. Subsequently, the dampers were incorporated into the model to achieve a seismic base shear value without seismic actions, as determined by the RSA. Full-scale dampers were then developed using three different HECM variants (NR-A, B and C), selected based on their achievement of a damping ratio of more than 10% as bearing isolators using the shear method according to EN 15129:2009 cl. 8.2.4.1.5. The developed dampers underwent testing for damping and wind load in accordance with EN 15129 cl. 7.4.2.7 and cl. 7.4.2.8, respectively, incorporating the testing parameters derived from the model's RSA. Finite element models (FEM) were developed and accurately simu-lating the hysteresis curves and damping properties of the HDR damper. The properties of HECM in the FEM were derived from the simulation results and can be utilized for future damper design, ensuring compliance with industry requirements. Additionally, an empirical formula will be developed to enable structural designers to estimate the mechanical properties of the tested damper. The testing shows that NR-C HECM damper is able to achieve 10.46% under 1.8 Hz requirement and able to exceed more than10% damping ratio up to frequency 2.3 Hz, thus providing an alternative energy dissipation damper in the building industry.