Abstract: “This study aims to explore the potential of superelastic/austenitic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) Belleville washers for the applications of seismic resisting devices. Employing a sophisticated superelastic-plastic constitutive model for NiTi SMA, a numerical study is performed to investigate the self-recovery and damping properties of NiTi SMA Belleville washers under the action of cyclic compression. A spectrum of geometric configuration is considered, where the effects of varying cone angles and thicknesses are discussed in detail. The effect of friction when two or more washers are stacked in parallel is also studied. Based on the parametric study results, a preliminary design recommendation on NiTi SMA Belleville washers is proposed. The current numerical study can facilitate further developments of viable re-centring and energy dissipating seismic resisting devices such as base isolations and dampers”

Keywords: NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA), Belleville washer, cyclic loading, recentring, seismic.