Optimum tuned mass damper design for preventing brittle fracture of RC buildings

Brittle fracture of structures excited by earthquakes can be prevented by adding a tuned mass damper (TMD). This TMD must be optimum and suitable to the physical conditions of the structure. Compressive strength of concrete is an important factor for brittle fracture. The application of a TMD to structures with low compressive strength of concrete may not be possible if the weight of the TMD is too much. A heavy TMD is dangerous for these structures because of insufficient axial force capacity of structure. For the preventing brittle fracture, the damping ratio of the TMD must be sufficient to reduce maximum shear forces below the values proposed in design regulations. Using the formulas for frequency and damping ratio related to a preselected mass, this objective can be only achieved by increasing the mass of the TMD. By using a metaheuristic method, the optimum parameters can be searched in a specific limit. In this study, Harmony Search (HS) is employed to find optimum TMD parameters for preventing brittle fracture by reducing shear force in additional to other time and frequency responses. The proposed method is feasible for the retrofit of weak structures with insufficient compressive strength of concrete.