Post-characteristics of formed Zn-22mass%Al alloy to seismic damper for general residence

Abstract

It has been reported that superplastic Zn-22 mass%Al alloy has some excellent properties needed for seismic damping devices. In addition, seismic damping devices using this alloy has already been put into practical use for a high-rise building. In the present investigation, we tried to apply this alloy to seismic damping devices for a general residence and examined the formability and the characteristics after the formation. No cracks were observed in the sample formed even at room temperature. The surface roughness, Ra, was improved from 0.602 μm before the formation to 0.418 μm after the formation. As the results of FVM analysis, it was predicted that the formed sample could exhibit the higher stress and strain at both sides of the inferior part of the gauge section. However, the average grain size, the ratio of the major axis length to minor axis one in a grain, and the hardness in the region exhibiting high stress and strain were almost the same characteristics as those in the initial sample.