Innovative Liquid Damper for Wind-Induced Vibration of Buildings: Performance after 4 Years of Operation, and Next Iteration

In 2016, an innovative liquid damper system was installed on the roof of a 35-story modular building in Brooklyn, NY to mitigate wind-induced movement of the structure. The new damper presented several advantages over traditional pendulum, liquid column or sloshing dampers, including lower fabrication and maintenance costs, modularity, and the flexibility to be tuned to a wider range of frequencies. The performance of the system was monitored on a regular basis over the past four years and found adequate, with only minor re-tuning and maintenance operations needed. Based on the experience and data gained through this project, a second iteration of the damper was developed. Called Hummingbird, the improved system further mitigates maintenance and tuning concerns, while allowing significant space savings.