What is a Viscous Fluid Damper?

The fluid viscous dampers are hydraulic devices that dissipate the kinetic energy of seismic events and cushion the impact between structures. They are versatile and can be designed to allow free movement as well as controlled damping of a structure to protect from wind load, thermal motion or seismic events.

The fluid viscous damper is consist of oil cylinder, piston, piston rod, lining, medium, pin head and other main parts. The piston could make reciprocating motion in the oil cylinder. The piston is equipped with damping structure and the oil cylinder is full of fluid damping medium.

How does a fluid Damper work?

When the external stimulation(such as earthquake, wind vibration) reaches to the engineering structure, it will be deformed and drive the damper to move, which will occur the pressure difference on the different side of the piston. Then the medium will go through the damping structure and create damping power, which will occur the exchange of power(the mechanical power exchange to heat power). All that will reach the purpose of reducing the engineering structure’s vibration.

Where a fluid viscous damper applicable for?

Fluid viscous damper has been widely used in the structure engineering as an high efficiency  energy dissipation solution nowadays. The application fields are as followed.

Civil architecture: residence, office building, shopping mall, and other multistoried and longspan buildings.

Lifeline engineering: hospital, school, functional buildings of city and so on.

Industry using: factory building, tower, industry equipment.

Bridges: passenger foot-bridge, viaduct and so on.

Military industry

Power station, petrochemical, Steel industry.