Coupled Tuned Mass Dampers for the Seismic Control of Asymmetric-Plan Buildings

Abstract

An innovative tuned mass damper, referred to as a coupled tuned mass damper (CTMD), is proposed for the control of a coupled vibration mode of one-way asymmetric-plan buildings. The CTMD simultaneously translates and rotates almost resonantly with the vibration of the controlled mode, which actually vibrates in translation, as well as rotation. Thus, the CTMD can be viewed as a direct approach for controlling the modal vibration of asymmetric-plan buildings. First, the CTMD is developed from the two-degree-of-freedom modal system, which has one active and one spurious vibration frequency. It is illustrated that the optimum parameter values of the CTMD can be conveniently determined from those of the corresponding tuned mass damper (TMD). Second, in order to apply the CTMD to a building structure, the properties of the CTMD obtained in the modal space are transformed into the physical space. Finally, the effectiveness of the CTMD in reducing the vibrations of asymmetric-plan structures is verified by investigating the frequency response functions and the response histories of three eight-story asymmetric-plan buildings with and without dampers. These three buildings are respectively torsionally stiff, torsionally similarly stiff, and torsionally flexible. This study confirms that the CTMD is an effective alternative for the seismic control of asymmetric-plan buildings.