• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1992.04a
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• pp.26-29
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• 1992

Modern tall buildings are subject to wind induced oscillations. Those oscillations can cause discomfort to the occupants. To control these motions, tuned mass dampers have been used. In this paper, component node synthesis, based on Lagrange multipliers formulation. is applied to the along-wind motion of tall buildings with multiple tuned mass dampers. Spectral densities of accelerations of top floor are compared by changing the numbers and locations of tuned mass dampers. It is found that multiple tuned mass dampers can be more effective than single tuned mass damper in reducing the acceleration response.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.377-386
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• 2000

Hybrid mass dampers consist of passive tuned mass dampers and active mass dampers. They have the advantage that passive tuned mass dampers are still operated even when active mass dampers are stopped by excessive disturbances or power failure. This paper begins first with the comparative analysis of tuned mass dampers, hybrid mass dampers, and active mass dampers. Next more detailed study is carried out on the hybrid mass dampers: cascade hybrid mass dampers (CHMD) and active tuned mass dampers (ATMD). CHMD is regarded as more reasonable device because of its lighter active mass than ATMD's. However CHMD can not neglect stroke saturation problem caused by the length limitation of active damper mass. We compensate the saturation problem with nonlinear restoring force. The restoring force is calculated based on the states and phases of active mass dampers and added to the control force. It is shown that the presented compensation method prevents CHMD from saturation behavior without apparent changes of control force and responses compared to those in case of not considering the saturation problem.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.235-256
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• 2010

The aeroelastic stability of bridge decks equipped with multiple tuned mass dampers is studied. The problem is attacked in the time domain, by representing self-excited loads with the aid of aerodynamic indicial functions approximated by truncated series of exponential filters. This approach allows to reduce the aeroelastic stability analysis in the form of a direct eigenvalue problem, by introducing an additional state variable for each exponential term adopted in the approximation of indicial functions. A general probabilistic framework for the optimal robust design of multiple tuned mass dampers is proposed, in which all possible sources of uncertainties can be accounted for. For the purposes of this study, the method is also simplified in a form which requires a lower computational effort and it is then applied to a general case study in order to analyze the control effectiveness of regular and irregular multiple tuned mass dampers. A special care is devoted to mistuning effects caused by random variations of the target frequency. Regular multiple tuned mass dampers are seen to improve both control effectiveness and robustness with respect to single tuned mass dampers. However, those devices exhibit an asymmetric behavior with respect to frequency mistuning, which may weaken their feasibility for technical applications. In order to overcome this drawback, an irregular multiple tuned mass damper is conceived which is based on unequal mass distribution. The optimal design of this device is finally pursued via a full domain search, which evidences a remarkable robustness against frequency mistuning, in the sense of the simplified design approach.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.267-284
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• 1999

Multiple tuned mass dampers are proposed to suppress the vertical and torsional buffeting and to increase the aerodynamic stability of long-span bridges. Each damper has vertical and torsional frequencies, which are tuned to the corresponding frequencies of the structural modes to suppress the resonant effects. These proposed dampers maintain the advantage of traditional multiple mass dampers, but have the added capability of simultaneously controlling vertical and torsional buffeting responses. The aerodynamic coupling is incorporated into the formulations, allowing this model to effectively increase the critical speed of a bridge for either single-degree-of-freedom flutter or coupled flutter. The reduction of dynamic response and the increase of the critical speed through the attachment of the proposed dampers to the bridge are also discussed. Through a parametric analysis, the characteristics of the multiple tuned mass dampers are studied and the design parameters - including mass, damping, frequency bandwidth, and total number of dampers - are proposed. The results indicate that the proposed dampers effectively suppress the vertical and the torsional buffeting and increase the structural stability. Moreover, these tuned mass dampers, designed within the recommended parameters, are not only more effective but also more robust than a single TMD against wind-induced vibration.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.301-314
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• 2007

The lever-type active multiple tuned mass dampers (LT-AMTMD), consisting of several lever-type active tuned mass dampers (LT-ATMD), is proposed in this paper to attenuate the vibrations of long-span bridges under the excitation directly acting on the structure, rather than through the base. With resorting to the derived analytical-expressions for the dynamic magnification factors of the LT-AMTMD structure system, the performance assessment then is conducted on the LT-AMTMD with the identical stiffness and damping coefficient but unequal mass. Numerical results indicate that the LT-AMTMD with the actuator set at the mass block can provide better effectiveness in reducing the vibrations of long-span bridges compared to the LT-AMTMD with the actuator set at other locations. An appealing feature of the LT-AMTMD with the actuator set at the mass block is that the static stretching of the spring may be freely adjusted in accordance with the practical requirements through changing the location of the support within the viable range while maintaining the same performance (including the same stroke displacement). Likewise, it is shown that the LT-AMTMD with the actuator set at the mass block can further ameliorate the performance of the lever-type multiple tuned mass dampers (LT-MTMD) and has higher effectiveness than a single lever-type active tuned mass damper (LT-ATMD). Therefore, the LT-AMTMD with the actuator set at the mass block may be a better means of suppressing the vibrations of long-span bridges with the consequence of not requiring the large static stretching of the spring and possessing a desirable robustness.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.173-176
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• 2014

This special issue focuses on Smart Tuned Mass Dampers (STMD) that are either active or smart or semi-active in nature. Active tuned mass dampers or active mass dampers have found wide acceptance and have been implemented in many tall buildings and long span bridges. Recently researchers have developed a new class of smart tuned mass dampers using either variable stiffness and/or variable damping to effect the change in instantaneous frequency and damping. Since tuning plays a central role in STMDs it is of great current interest thus the topic of this special issue. Discussions of recent active and smart TMD implementations in tall buildings and bridges are also included.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.607-621
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• 2012

The Expo Culture Centre is one of the permanent buildings at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. The main structure has an oval shape and consists of 36 radial cantilever steel trusses with different lengths and inner frames made of concrete-filled rectangular steel tube members. Tuned mass dampers are used to reduce the excessive vibrations of the sixth floor that are caused by human-induced resonance. A three-dimensional analytical model of the system is developed, and its main characteristics are established. A series of field tests are performed on the structure, and the test results show that the vertical vibration frequencies of most structural cantilevers are between 2.5 Hz and 3.5 Hz, which falls in the range of human-induced vibration. Twelve pairs of tuned mass dampers weighing 115 tons total were installed in the structure to suppress the vibration response of the system. These mass dampers were tuned to the vertical vibration frequency of the structure, which had the highest possibility of excitation. Test data obtained after the installation of the tuned mass dampers are used to evaluate their effectiveness for the reduction of the vibration acceleration. An analytical model of the structure is calibrated according to the measured dynamic characteristics. An analysis of the modified model is performed and the results show that when people walk normally, the structural vibration was low and the tuned mass dampers have no effect, but when people run at the structural vibration frequency, the tuned mass dampers can reduce the floor vibration acceleration by approximately 15%.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.143-162
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• 2019

Motivated by a simpler and more compact hybrid active tuned mass damper (ATMD) system with wide frequency spacing (i.e., high robustness) but not reducing the effectiveness using the least number of ATMD units, the active tuned tandem mass dampers (ATTMD) have been proposed to attenuate undesirable oscillations of structures under the ground acceleration. Likewise, it is expected that the frequency spacing of the ATTMD is comparable to that of the active multiple tuned mass dampers (AMTMD) or the multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMD). In accordance with the mode generalised system in the specific vibration mode being controlled (simply referred herein to as the structure), the closed-form expression of the dimensionless displacement variances has been derived for the structure with the attached ATTMD. The criterion for the optimum searching may then be determined as minimization of the dimensionless displacement variances. Employing the gradient-based optimization technique, the effects of varying key parameters on the performance of the ATTMD have been scrutinized in order to probe into its superiority. Meanwhile, for the purpose of a systematic comparison, the optimum results of two active tuned mass dampers (two ATMDs), two tuned mass dampers (two TMDs) without the linking damper, and the TTMD are included into consideration. Subsequent to work in the frequency domain, a real-time Simulink implementation of dynamic analysis of the structure with the ATTMD under earthquakes is carried out to verify the findings of effectiveness and stroke in the frequency domain. Results clearly show that the findings in the time domain support the ones in the frequency domain. The whole work demonstrates that ATTMD outperforms two ATMDs, two TMDs, and TTMD. Thereinto, a wide frequency spacing feature of the ATTMD is its highlight, thus deeming it a high robustness control device. Furthermore, the ATTMD system only needs the linking dashpot, thus embodying its simplicity.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1993.04a
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• pp.95-99
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• 1993

Conventional tuned mass dampers are located on the top floor of tall buildings, which reduce the fundamental mode response of buildings. Higher modes may have a greater contribution toward the acceleration response of tall buildings. To reduce this, additional tuned mass dampers are required and could be substituted as building equipments. This paper shows, with a numerical ezample, how the lecate tuned mass damper in order to reduce the higher mode response effectively

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2010

Coupled building control is a viable method to protect tall buildings from seismic excitation. In this study, the semi-active control of a building complex is investigated for mitigating seismic responses. The building complex is formed of one main building and one podium structure connected through Magneto-Rheological (MR) Dampers and Tuned Mass Damper. The conventional semi-active control techniques require a primary controller as a reference to determine the desired control force, and modulate the input voltage of the MR damper by comparing the desired control force. The fuzzy logic directly determines the input voltage of an MR damper from the response of the MR damper. The control performance of the proposed fuzzy control technique for the MR damper is evaluated for the control problem of a seismically-excited building complex. In this paper, a building complex that include a 14-story main building and an 8-story podium structure is applied as a numerical example to demonstrate the effectiveness of semi-active control with Magneto-Rheological dampers and its comparison with the passive control with the Tuned Mass Damper and two uncoupled buildings and hybrid semi-active control including the Tuned Mass Damper and Magneto-Rheological dampers while they are subject to the earthquake excitation. The numerical results show that semi-active control and hybrid semi-active control can significantly mitigate the seismic responses of both buildings, such as displacement and shear force responses, and fuzzy control technique can effectively mitigate the seismic response of the building complex.