Ensuring seismic resilience: low cycle fatigue analysis of Maurer SHARK® Damper

Maurer SHARK® Hysteretic Damper is a simple yet highly efficient steel hysteretic damper that dissipates seismic energy through designed plastic deformation, offering effective protection against earthquake-induced damage. In this contribution, to study the reliability of the designed SHARK® damper during seismic event, Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) Analysis is applied to evaluate the fatigue performance of the damper, ensuring the damper providing consistent protection during the whole earthquake. Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations are conducted to numerically analyze the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of the damper. Experimental tests were also conducted, which validated the simulation-based fatigue life predictions with a deviation of 5.6% compared with simulation. Crack initiation is observed in the experiment; however, the damper still maintains sufficient energy dissipation capacity after the crack initiation, continuing to provide robust protection to the structure during seismic events. By combining simulation and experimental validation, this study verifes the Maurer SHARK® Hysteretic Damper’s robustness and readiness for real-world application. The results support the SHARK® damper as a reliable solution for seismic energy dissipation, contributing to the overall safety and durability of critical infrastructure.