In this paper,first,three small dampers made with Q235B steel were designed according to the hysteretic energy dissipation characteristics of normal-strength steel. Then,to investigate the hysteretic energy dissipation ability and obtain a reasonable form of the dampers,low-cyclic loading tests were carried out,and the equivalent stiffness,the energy dissipation capacity and the damping characteristics of the dampers were analyzed. The results
demonstrate that ( 1) the bending-type damper is of large plastic deformation,stable hysteretic performance,low initial stiffness and poor bearing capacity; ( 2) the shearing-type damper is of high initial stiffness and great yield force,but the deformation ability of it is poor due to the out-plane buckling induced by the local stress concentration; and ( 3) the bending-shearing-type damper,which possesses the advantages of both the bending- and the shearing-type dampers,can not only improve the lateral stiffness but also avoid the out-plane instability,so that it is of high working performance.