Theoretical analysis and experimental research on toggle-brace-damper system considering different installation modes

The toggle-brace-damper system has been proven to be the most effective system for the energydissipation of stiff structures. however, the expected effect of the toggle-brace-damper system dependslargely on its configuration, the use of steel braces and the installation mode. the existing design methodsof toggle-brace-damper systems may be further improved. the analysis of different installation modesand experiments involving toggle-brace-damper systems are conducted to improve understanding of theinfluence of key factors and to provide design guidance. for toggle-brace-damper system tests, a verticalbrace is installed in a steel frame to prevent out-of-plane instability. the calculation formulas for an uppertoggle-brace-damper system and other configuration systems with consideration of the influence of bracedeformation are studied in the paper. test results show that the upper toggle-brace-damper system hasthe largest magnification factor, which is consistent with the theoretical analyses. the brace deformationand installation error cannot be ignored in the design of a toggle-brace-damper system. installation errorcan also lead to out-of-plane instability of a toggle-brace-damper system. moreover, the experimentalresults show that the magnification factor changes with loading and is different when force is applied inthe push and pull directions.