Abstract：To study the mechanical properties of friction dampers made of brake pads, uniaxial cyclic loading tests are conducted considering the effects of surface pressure, loading rate, etc. High-strength bolts and disc-shaped springs placed in series are utilized to apply the normal pressure to the friction interfaces in order to reduce the impact of temperature stress on the mechanical performance of the friction damper. To investigate the discreteness of damper performance, tests with the same parameters were repeated triple times. The test results show that the friction interface possesses reliable energy dissipation capacity, and the friction force is relatively stable. The test results also suggest that during the testing process, the surface pressure on the friction interface may gradually decrease, and the decrease amplitude depends on the initial surface pressure. The test under dynamic loading may produce lower friction coefficient, compared with the tests under static loading. Hence, when applying friction coefficients obtained from static loading tests to the design of dampers, results could be unreliable.
