The main objective of this paper is to develop a comparison between the analytical and experimental responses of viscous dampers subjected to cyclic motions. Using available multiphysics tools, a mathematical damper model capable of accounting for the complex fluid dynamics and thermal behaviors of the flow inside the damper is presented. The relevant equations that govern the behavior are presented and briefly discussed in terms of the dominant tendencies observed in the device. Uncertainties in the model come from the representation through complex PDE's, but also from the viscous properties and nonlinear constitutive behavior of the fluid. From the wide range of possibilities of damper configurations considered in this research, analytical and experimental comparisons for one case, the annular orifice, are presented in detail here. First, a parametric analysis of the variation of the velocity exponent a is presented as a function of the shear deformation rate in the damper. Based on the multiphysics model and parametric study, a specific geometry was selected to build a nominal 600 kN damper prototype. The viscous damper was manufactured and tested cyclically to validate the different mathematical model predictions. Results show excellent numerical accuracy between the mathematical and physical model, which is particularly relevant for the design and production of other damper capacities and configurations. Despite this accuracy, the model tends to overestimate, in this case, the decrease in damper force resulting from the changes in viscosity due to rising fluid temperature. Also, it is shown that the hysteresis force-velocity behavior observed at some frequencies of the physical model cannot be accounted for by a mathematical model that neglects compressibility of the fluid.