Investigation of an Impact-buffered Viscous Damper: A new mechanical model, experiments, and numerical simulations

•A new mechanical model of the impact-buffered viscous damper (IBVD) is proposed.•The proposed model can simulate the elastic aftereffect of the metal rubber buffers in the IBVD.•The effectiveness of the new model is verified experimentally.•Experiments are conducted to examine the IBVD's seismic performance.•Numerical analysis is performed on a bridge to evaluate the IBVD's performance. This paper introduces a new mechanical model and presents experimental investigations for impact-buffered viscous dampers (IBVDs). A multi-degree-of-freedom bridge system is employed for numerical analysis, investigating the vibration control and impact characteristics of IBVDs. The experimental results closely align with theoretical predictions, with errors of 4.33 % for maximum positive force and 6.73 % for energy dissipation. When the displacement amplitude is greater than or equal to 6 mm, the equivalent viscous damping ratio of the IBVD decreases with the displacement amplitude. Numerical simulations show that IBVDs reduce the maximum acceleration of the girder and the maximum impact force by 20 % and 24 %, respectively. Compared to conventional viscous dampers, IBVDs demonstrate superior vibration control in terms of base shear and girder displacement. An appropriately designed IBVD can dissipate energy comparably to a conventional viscous damper during design-basis earthquakes while also providing enhanced cushioning against sudden collisions in more severe earthquakes.