The cable tray system, one type of non-structural components, may suffer severe damage and even fall in case of earthquakes, causing interruptions to post-earthquake operations and even injuries or casualties. This paper introduces a toggle-brace damper (TBD) into the cable tray system to control its seismic response and damage. However, owing to the large deformation/rotation effect in the TBD equipped cable tray system, the traditional design method based on small deformation assumption is no longer applicable. The new deformation calculations of suspension frame and TBD subjected to displacement loading are established combining the optimization technique and the geometry relationship, respectively. After then, an optimization design method for connecting location of the damper brace is proposed, considering the installation errors, deformation constraints, and loading process. With the aid of numerical analysis, it is found that the large deformation effect and in-plane installation errors have considerable influence on the damping magnification function. Compared with typical seismic resistant elements such as the steel brace, diagonal- and chevron-brace damper, the proposed optimal TBD can dissipate more energy and effectively suppress the vibration of cable tray system.

电缆桥架系统是一种非结构性部件，在发生地震时可能会遭受严重损坏甚至倒塌，从而导致震后作业中断，甚至造成人员伤亡。本文将肘节支撑阻尼器（TBD）引入电缆桥架系统，以控制其地震响应和损坏。然而，由于TBD电缆桥架系统的大变形/旋转效应，基于小变形假设的传统设计方法不再适用。结合优化技术和几何关系，分别建立了新的悬架和TBD在位移荷载作用下的变形计算。然后，考虑到安装误差，提出了阻尼撑杆连接位置的优化设计方法，变形约束和加载过程。借助数值分析发现，大变形效应和面内安装误差对阻尼放大函数有相当大的影响。与钢支撑、斜支撑和人字支撑阻尼器等典型的抗震元件相比，所提出的最优TBD可以耗散更多的能量并有效抑制电缆桥架系统的振动。