• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.137-155
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• 2013

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.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.89-100
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• 2023

This paper conducts a parametric study of a new tuned mass damper with pre-strained superelastic SMA helical springs (SMAS-TMD) on the vibration reduction effect. First, a force-displacement relation model of superelastic SMA helical spring is presented based on the multilinear constitutive model of SMA material, and the tension tests of the six SMA springs fabricated are implemented to validate the mechanical model. Then, a dynamic model of a single floor steel frame with the SMAS-TMD damper is set up to simulate the seismic responses of the frame, which are testified by the shaking table tests. The wire diameter, initial coil diameter, number of coils and pre-strain length of SMA springs are extracted to investigate their influences on the seismic response reduction of the frame. The numerical and experimental results show that, under different earthquakes, when the wire diameter, initial coil diameter and number of coils are set to the appropriate values so that the initial elastic stiffness of the SMA spring is between 0.37 and 0.58 times of classic TMD stiffness, the maximum reduction ratios of the proposed damper can reach 40% as the mass ratio is 2.34%. Meanwhile, when the pre-strain length of SMA spring is in a suitable range, the SMAS-TMD damper can also achieve very good vibration reduction performance. The vibration reduction performance of the SMAS-TMD damper is generally equal to or better than that of the classic optimal TMD, and the proposed damper effectively suppresses the detuning phenomena that often occurs in the classic TMD.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.1625-1642
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• 2015

We propose an electrically self-reliant structural health monitoring (SHM) system that is able to wirelessly transmit sensing data using electrical power generated by vibration without the need for additional external power sources. The provision of reliable electricity to wireless SHM systems is a highly important issue that has often been ignored, and to expand the applicability of various wireless SHM innovations, it will be necessary to develop comprehensive wireless SHM devices including stable electricity sources. In light of this need, we propose a new, highly efficient vibration-powered generator based on a tuned-mass-damper (TMD) mechanism that is quite suitable for vibration-based SHM. The charging time of the TMD generator is shorter than that of conventional generators based on the impedance matching method, and the proposed TMD generator can harvest 16 times the amount of energy that a conventional generator can. The charging time of an SHM wireless transmitter is quantitatively formulated. We conduct wireless monitoring experiments to validate a wireless SHM system composed of a self-reliant SHM and a vibration-powered TMD generator.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.89-106
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• 2022

The negative stiffness of an active or semi-active damper system has been proven to be very effective in reducing dynamic response. Therefore, energy dissipation devices possessing negative stiffness, such as viscous inertial mass dampers (VIMDs), have drawn much attention recently. The control performance of the VIMD for cable vibration mitigation has already been demonstrated by many researchers. In this paper, a new optimal design procedure for VIMD parameters for taut cable vibration control is presented based on the fixed-points method originally developed for tuned mass damper design. A model consisting of a taut cable and a VIMD installed near a cable end is studied. The frequency response function (FRF) of the cable under a sinusoidal load distributed proportionally to the mode shape is derived. Then, the fixed-points method is applied to the FRF curves. The performance of a VIMD with the optimal parameters is subsequently evaluated through simulations. A taut cable model with a tuned VIMD is established for several cases of external excitation. The performance of VIMDs using the proposed optimal parameters is compared with that in the literature. The results show that cable vibration can be significantly reduced using the proposed optimal VIMD with a relatively small amount of damping. Multiple VIMDs are applied effectively to reduce the cable vibration with multi-modal components.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.65-80
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• 2020

In order to protect a structure over its full life cycle, a novel tuned mass damper (TMD), the so-called semi-active eddy current pendulum tuned mass damper (SAEC-PTMD), which can retune its frequency and damping ratio in real-time, is proposed in this study. The structural instantaneous frequency is identified through a Hilbert-Huang transformation (HHT), and the SAEC-PTMD pendulum is adjusted through an HHT-based control algorithm. The eddy current damping parameters are discussed, and the relationship between effective damping coefficients and air gaps is fitted through a polynomial function. The semi-active eddy current damping can be adjusted in real-time by adjusting the air gap based on the linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG)-based control algorithm. To verify the vibration control effect of the SAEC-PTMD, an idealized linear primary structure equipped with an SAEC-PTMD excited by harmonic excitations and near-fault pulse-like earthquake excitations is proposed as one of the two case studies. Under strong earthquakes, structures may go into the nonlinear state, while the Bouc-Wen model has a wild application in simulating the hysteretic characteristic. Therefore, in the other case study, a nonlinear primary structure based on the Bouc-Wen model is proposed. An optimal passive TMD is used for comparison and the detuning effect, which results from the cumulative damage to primary structures, is considered. The maximum and root-mean-square (RMS) values of structural acceleration and displacement time history response, structural acceleration, and displacement response spectra are used as evaluation indices. Power analyses for one earthquake excitation are presented as an example to further study the energy dissipation effect of an SAECPTMD. The results indicate that an SAEC-PTMD performs better than an optimized passive TMD, both before and after damage occurs to the primary structure.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.231-256
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• 2016

This study concerns the derivation of optimum tuning formulas for a passive Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) device, for the case of benchmark ideal excitations acting on a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) damped primary structure. The free TMD parameters are tuned first through a non-linear gradient-based optimisation algorithm, for the case of harmonic or white noise excitations, acting either as force on the SDOF primary structure or as base acceleration. The achieved optimum TMD parameters are successively interpolated according to appropriate analytical fitting proposals, by non-linear least squares, in order to produce simple and effective TMD tuning formulas. In particular, two fitting models are presented. The main proposal is composed of a simple polynomial relationship, refined within the fitting process, and constitutes the optimum choice. A second model refers to proper modifications of literature formulas for the case of an undamped primary structure. The results in terms of final (interpolated) optimum TMD parameters and of device effectiveness in reducing the structural dynamic response are finally displayed and discussed in detail, showing the wide and ready-to-use validity of the proposed optimisation procedure and achieved tuning formulas. Several post-tuning trials have been carried out as well on SDOF and MDOF shear-type frame buildings, by confirming the effective benefit provided by the proposed optimum TMD.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

Inerter-based damping devices (IBBDs), which consist of inerter, spring and viscous damper, have been extensively investigated in vehicle suspension systems and demonstrated to be more effective than the traditional control devices with spring and viscous damper only. In the present study, the control performance on cable vibration reduction was studied for four different inerter-based damping devices, namely the parallel-connected viscous mass damper (PVMD), series-connected viscous mass damper (SVMD), tuned inerter dampers (TID) and tuned viscous mass damper (TVMD). Firstly the mechanism of the ball screw inerter is introduced. Then the state-space formulation of the cable-TID system is derived as an example for the cable-IBBDs system. Based on the complex modal analysis, single-mode cable vibration control analysis is conducted for PVMD, SVMD, TID and TVMD, and their optimal parameters and the maximum attainable damping ratios of the cable/damper system are obtained for several specified damper locations and modes in combination by the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. Lastly, optimal design of PVMD is developed for multi-mode vibration control of cable, and the results of damping ratio analysis are validated through the forced vibration analysis in a case study by numerical simulation. The results show that all the four inerter-based damping devices significantly outperform the viscous damper for single-mode vibration control. In the case of multi-mode vibration control, PVMD can provide more damping to the first four modes of cable than the viscous damper does, and their maximum control forces under resonant frequency of harmonic forced vibration are nearly the same. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of PVMD in cable vibration control.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.727-741
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• 2018

To mitigate vibrations, tuned mass dampers(TMD) are widely used for long span bridges or high-rise buildings. Due to some durability concerns, such as fluid degradation, oil leakage, etc., the alternative solutions, such as the non-contacted eddy current damping (ECD), are proposed for mechanical devices in small scales. In the present study, a new eddy current damping TMD (ECD-TMD) is proposed and developed for large scale civil infrastructure applications. Starting from parametric study on finite element analysis of the ECD-TMD, the new design is enhanced via using the permanent magnets to eliminate the power need and a combination of a copper plate and a steel plate to improve the energy dissipation efficiency. Additional special design includes installation of two permanent magnets at the same side above the copper plate to easily adjust the gap as well as the damping. In a case study, the proposed ECD-TMD is demonstrated in the application of a steel arch bridge to mitigate the wind-induced vibrations of the flexible hangers. After a brief introduction of the configuration and the installation process for the damper, the mitigation effects are measured for the ambient vibration and forced vibration scenarios. The results show that the damping ratios increase to 3% for the weak axis after the installation of the ECD-TMDs and the maximum vibration amplitudes can be reduced by 60%.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.57-72
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• 2010

This paper presents the most significant results obtained within a broad-ranging experimental program aiming to evaluate both the effectiveness and the robustness of a Base Isolation (BIS) and a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) combined control strategy (BI & TMD). Following a brief description of the experimental model set-up and the adopted kinematic scaling technique, this paper describes the identification procedures carried out to characterize the system''s model. The dynamic response of a small-scale model to recorded earthquake excitations, which has been scaled by using the Buckingham pi-theorem, are later presented and discussed. Finally, the effectiveness and robustness of the combined control strategy is evaluated by comparing the model's dynamic response. In particular, reduction in relative displacements and absolute accelerations due to the application of different mass damping systems is investigated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.473-500
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• 2014

Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) have been installed in many high-rise buildings, to improve their resiliency under dynamic loads. However, high-rise buildings may experience natural frequency changes under ambient temperature fluctuations, extreme wind loads and relative humidity variations. This makes the design of a TMD challenging and may lead to a detuned scenario, which can reduce significantly the performance. To alleviate this problem, the current paper presents a proposed approach for the design of a robust and efficient TMD. The approach accounts for the uncertain natural frequency, the optimization objective and the input excitation. The study shows that robust design parameters can be different from the optimal parameters. Nevertheless, predetermined optimal parameters are useful to attain design robustness. A case study of a high-rise building is executed. The TMD designed with the proposed approach showed its robustness and effectiveness in reducing the responses of high-rise buildings under multidirectional wind. The case study represents an engineered design that is instructive. The results show that shear buildings may be controlled with less effort than cantilever buildings. Structural control performance in high-rise buildings may depend on the shape of the building, hence the flow patterns, as well as the wind direction angle. To further increase the performance of the robust TMD in one lateral direction, active control using LQG and fuzzy logic controllers was carried out. The performance of the controllers is remarkable in enhancing the response reduction. In addition, the fuzzy logic controller may be more robust than the LQG controller.