Civil Engineering Association

Mitigation of earthquake induced vibrations by Tuned Mass Dampers

This paper addresses the assessment of the performance of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) to mitigate seismic induced structural vibrations. Two different sets of recorded ground motions are employed: the first set contains far-field records, the second one near-field records with strong pulse characteristics. The evaluation of the TMD efficiency and of its
optimal parameters is based on reduction coefficients, which are derived from the ratio of the structural response with and without attached TMD. These response quantities are evaluated statistically, and the difference between the outcomes for both ground motion sets is quantified. Numerous combinations of parameters are consulted to predict the effect of detuning from optimal TMD parameters. It is verified that a TMD damping coefficient larger than the optimal one reduces the peak deflection of the TMD spring significantly, while the response reduction of the main structure remains almost unaffected.