PERFORMANCE OF TUNED MASS DAMPER UNDER EARTHQUAKE AND WIND LOADS

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Structural vibrations are caused due to dynamic excitations. Traditional method of design alone
does not necessarily ensure that the structure will respond dynamically in such a way that the
comfort and the safety of the occupants is maintained even though the structure is safe against the
dynamic excitations. Thus they are losing their relevance and are becoming economically non
viable. Many researchers have made effort to find the solutions and alternative methods to control
the structural response to manageable level for economic design of structures under dynamic
excitations. One such method which is currently investigated and used for controlling the structural
excitations is tuned mass damper (TMD).

TMD is the viscous spring mass unit which is attached to the main system which is to be
protected under dynamic excitations. The efficiency of the TMD for controlling the dynamic
response is dependent on its parameters like mass, stiffness and damping ratio. TMD acts as a
secondary vibrating system when connected to main or primary system. When TMD is tuned close
to the natural frequency of the primary system, and when the structure vibrate it makes TMD to
vibrate in resonance with the primary structure and dissipate the maximum energy through
damping. In addition, TMD does not require any connections to the ground to dissipate the energy
produced under dynamic excitation. Many TMD are implemented successfully worldwide to
control the structural response under wind forces in tall buildings and chimneys. Schematic
representation of principle of TMD is shown in figure1.0.

Figure 1.0: Schematic representation of Principle of tuned mass damper

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CHAPTER 2. THEORY ON TUNED MASS DAMPER

2.1 TUNED MASS DAMPER

A Tuned mass damper (TMD) also known as vibration absorber is a device mounted on the
structure to reduce the amplitude of vibration when subjected to dynamic excitation. It can also
prevent the damage to the structures and provide comfort to the occupants inside any building or
the structure.TMD also stabilizes the motion caused due to harmonic vibrations. It primarily
consists of a spring, mass and the damper.

2.2 HISTORY OF TMD

TMD was first suggested by Frahm [3] in 1909, to attenuate the undesirable vibrations in the
ships, this device contains the mass, spring and the damping device. Up to now may TMD are
installed successfully in many civil engineering systems to control the structural vibrations.
Especially in many sky scrapers and slender towers worldwide. Namely the CN tower(353m) in
Canada, the John Hancock building in Boston, USA, Centre point tower(305m) in Sydney,
Australia and one of the tallest building Taipei 101 tower(101 stories,508m)in Taipei. Recently
many studies have been focused on finding the optimum parameters for TMD and on evaluating
its efficiency under various types of dynamic excitations. To minimize the displacement of single
degree of freedom system, Den Hartog[6] derived classic results for the optimum TMD
parameters for a TMD under a white noise excitation. Morano et al.[5] examined the optimum
parameters for the seismic protection and inelastic structures. Leung et al.[4] used particle swarm
optimization to describe TMD with a small mass ratio between the absorber system and main
system is preferable. As long as natural frequency satisfies the condition of tuned mass damper the
system yields the optimum parameters for the TMD. As far as the damping of the main system
is concerned it has very little effect on the TMD’s optimum parameters.

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2.3 TYPES OF TUNED MASS DAMPERS

On the basis of working principle tuned mass damper are widely classified into two types
1. Passive Tuned mass damper
2. Active Tuned mass damper

2.3.1 PASSIVE-TUNED MASS DAMPER.

Passive systems are characterized by the absence of an external source of energy. A passive
TMD system is any TMD topology which does not contain any active element, such as an
actuator. As a result these systems are entirely mechanical.

A limitation shared by all passive TMD systems are is its lack if robustness to detuning
conditions. Outside the narrow tuned frequency Of the TMD, the effectiveness of the TMD in
minimizing structural vibration is reduced. Even small deviations from the optimal tuning
frequency can deteriorate the performance of the TMD significantly. As a result, the effectiveness
of passive TMD system is resilient on the accuracy of its initial tuning and whether there is any
structural detuning subsequently.

Despite these significant limitations, passive TMD systems are still used because they are
relatively inexpensive systems which perform well when properly tuned.

Furthermore the absence of an external actuator or energy source mean that there is no
additional operational cost once the system is installed, the two most common types of passive
tuned mass dampers are translational TMD and Pendulum TMDs.

2.3.1.1 Translational Tuned Mass damper

Translational TMD can be either unidirectional or bi-directional systems. In unidirectional systems the
motion of the TMD mass is restricted to a single direction often by placing the mass on set of rails and
roller bearings, as depicted in figure 2.1. In bi-directional system the mass can move along the both co
ordinate axes. In either of the systems a set of springs and dampers are placed between the TMD mass and
the supporting structure which is fixed to the structure. Translational TMD are implemented in large scale
industries over 40years. Examples of structures containing

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translational TMD include the Washington National Airport Tower, The John Hancock Tower and
The Chiba Port Tower.

Figure 2.1: Translational tuned mass damper in Chiba Port Tower.

2.3.1.2 Tuned pendulum damper

Pendulum TMDs (PTMDs) replace the translational spring and damper system with a pendulum,
which consists of a mass supported by a cable which pivots about a point, as illustrated in figure 2.2.
They are commonly modelled as a simple pendulum. For small angular oscillations they will behave
similarly to a translational TMD system and PTMD are identical to translational TMD. A major
motivating factor for using PTMD system over translational TMD is because of the absence of any
bearings to support the TMD mass. The bearing support system used in the Translational TMDs is
expensive and susceptible to wear and tear over the lifespan. As a result PTMD design can be less
expensive to manufacture and last longer. Nearly 50% of structures in Japan that use TMD systems
utilizes PTMD over translational TMD. Examples include Crystal tower in Osaka, Higashimyama Sky
Tower in Nagoya and Taipei 101 in Taipei. Studies on the use of PTMD generally focus on the
optimization of PTMD design parameters to reduce the excessive lateral deflections in the structure.

Figure2.2: Passive pendulum TMD in Taipei 101.

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2.3.2 ACTIVE TUNED MASS DAMPERS

Active tuned mass dampers( ATMDs) contain an external energy source, often in the form of
actuator. In comparison to Passive tuned mass damper, which operate without an energy source.
Active system utilizes sensors to measure system conditions and employ a closed loop control
topology.

An Active TMD system, as shown in figure 2.3, contains an actuator which drives the motion of
either the TMD mass or an auxiliary mass connected to the TMD mass. By actively controlling the
motion of an external mass the ATMD can control the forces excreted on the structure. There are
two advantages in this design. First, the performance of an ATMD system is capable of optimizing
its transient performance. This is particularly useful for impact loads, such as earthquake loads. As
a result, Active TMD systems have been implemented to reduce the lateral response of structures
when induced by earthquake loads. For example the Kyobashi Seiwa Building in Tokyo, Japan
constrains two Active TMDs to mitigate structural vibration induced by frequent earthquake
Spencer and Sian. The installed system reduces the lateral displacement by approximately 67%.

Several studies have been performed on the use and performance of ATMDs. These studies
generally focus on an optimal control algorithm used to improve the ATMDs performance.

Figure2.3: Active TMD

Although ATMDs can outperform their passive counterparts, they have some drawbacks, the added
design, manufacturing, and instrumentation complexity results in significantly higher financial costs over
passive systems. Furthermore, the addition of an actuator significantly increases the energy requirements of
the system. To reduce energy demands, active systems can be converted into hybrid systems. In

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hybrid system the ATMD acts as a passive system under typical loading conditions. Once the
structure reaches a certain threshold, the active system is turned on, an example of a hybrid
system containing an 18 tonne passive TMD and two auxiliary actuated masses weighing a
combined 3.6 tonnes. A conceptual diagram of the system is show in figure 2.4.

Figure2.4: Schematic representation of Active TMD

2.4 SOURCES OF VIBRATION IN STRUCTURE

The major sources of vibrations in structure are

2.4.1 EARTHQUAKE

The seismic waves caused by an earthquake will make buildings sway and oscillate in various directions
depending on the frequency, direction of ground motion, and the height of the building. Seismic activity can
cause excessive oscillations of the building which may lead to structural failure. To enhance the buildings
seismic performance, a proper building design in performed engaging various seismic vibration control
techniques. As mentioned above, damping devices had been used in the aeronautics and automobile
industries long before they were standard in mitigating seismic damage to buildings. In fact the first
specialized damping devices for earthquake were not developed until late in 1950.

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WIND

The wind force against a tall buildings or skyscrapers is of major importance since it can cause
the buildings to sway more than a certain level at which the occupants feel uncomfortable inside
the building. The motion of the structure can be in the form of sway or twisting. Structure
during their lifetime may undergo natural frequency changes under wind speed, i.e., it may be
susceptible to resonance.

MECHANICAL AND HUMAN SOURCES

The vibrations caused due to Heavy machinery, traffic on a bridge or vibrations caused due to movement
of occupants comes under this category. Mass of people up and down the stairs at once, stomping in
unison, can cause a serious problem in structures like stadiums, shopping mall or public office buildings
etc.

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CHAPTER 3. PRINCIPLE OF TUNED MASS DAMPER

3.1 TWO DEGREE OF FREEDOM SYSTEM

For understanding the behaviour of the TMD first we need to have some prerequisite knowledge

regarding the response of a undamped two DOF system under forced vibrations.
Let us consider a two DOF system consisting of mass m 1 and m2 which is connected to the springs
of stiffness k1 and k2 as shown in the figure 3.1. Let an harmonic force p1(t)=posinωt is applied to
the mass m1. Where ω is the excitation frequency and po is the amplitude.

Figure 3.1: Spring- mass system of 2-DOF system

For both the spring mass system the equation of motion in matrix form

............ 3.1
The steady state solution can be assumed as

……….3.2
Substituting this in the equation of motion we obtain

The determinant of the coupled stiffness matrix will yield the natural frequencies ω 1 and
ω2 of the system.

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3.2 FORMULATION OF MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF TMD

To explain the basic principle of the tuned mass damper let us consider a tuned mass damper
attached to a single degree of freedom system consisting of mass m 1 and stiffness k1 excited by
a harmonic force p1(t)=posinωt. Essentially a Tuned mass damper or the vibration absorber
consists of a mass m2 and spring of stiffness k2 which is attached to the main system as shown
in the figure 3.2

Figure 3.2: Spring-mass system of TMD

As we can see the whole mathematical model of TMD with the main system turned out to be a
2-DOF system. The analysis of the TMD will be similar to the analysis of the 2-DOF system
subjected to harmonic force at the mass m1. Hence the results obtained in the article 4.1 are valid
and used to analyse the response of TMD. By introducing the notations

The solution obtained for the amplitudes in the article 4.1 can be rewritten using the above notations as

… 3.4 (a) & (b)

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CHAPTER 4. DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF TUNED MASS DAMPER

4.1 PERFORMANCE UNDER LOADS

Tuned mass damper ( TMDs ) work by fastening a mass-block to a structural component ( such as a
floor ) via a spring.Damper frequency is tuned to particular structural frequency which when excited,
resonates the damper out of phase with structural motion. When floor vibrates at a resonant frequency, it
induces analogous movement of the mass block and spring. By the conservation of energy, the TMD
motion in turn reduces the amplitude of the floor’s vibration.

A damping device ( dashpot ) is usually connected in parallel with the spring between the mass-block and
floor, increasing the TMD’s effectiveness over a range of frequencies and taking a small amount of
mechanical energy out of the system.

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4.2 OPERATING FREQUENCY

As we can observe from the response amplitude equation 3.4 of article 3.2, the amplitude of
main system and TMD does not depend on individual frequency but depends on frequency ratio
ω/ω*2 and ω/ω*1.
As it is a two degree of freedom system there exist a two resonance condition at ω=ω*1 & ω = ω*2.
From the response equation of the mass m1, at ω=ω*2 the motion of the main mass cease

altogether.
From the response equation of the mass m2, at ω =ω*1 the response of the main mass alone
would be infinite , but due to the presence of the vibration absorber the response of the main
system can be made finite and near to zero.
Hence the absorber should be tuned near to the natural frequency of the main mass for the
efficient working and hence the name ‘Tuned mass Damper’.
ω = ω*1 = ω*2
The operating frequency range depends upon the mass ratio (µ) which is defined as the ratio of
the mass of TMD to the mass of the main system.

Since the main system is of our importance and the main mass system without the TMD is

vulnerable to failure at the resonance condition which is at ω =ω*1. We shall plot the frequency

response curve to analyse the response of main mass system and TMD for the condition ω*1 = ω*2

and µ=0.2 for different values of ω/ω*1 using the equations 3.4

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Figure 4.1 Frequency response curve of main system alone.

From the above frequency response curve of the main system alone we can observe that at the resonance
condition that is when ω/ω*1 =1 the response of the main mass ceases to zero in the presence of the TMD

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Figure 4.2 Frequency response curve of TMD alone.

From the frequency response curve of TMD alone in figure 4.2 we can
observe that there is a finite response of the TMD when there is resonance
condition of the main system.

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Figure 4.3 Frequency response curve of TMD system

From figure 4.3 frequency curve of the main system and TMD together it is
evident that there is zero response of the main system in the presence TMD at
resonance condition i.e., at ω/ω*1 =1, and there is some finite response of the
TMD. Hence the TMD acts as a scarifying system to protect the main system
of our importance.

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4.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MASS RATIO (µ)

Mass ratio is defined as the ratio of the absorber mass to the mass of main
system or primary system.
If we consider the operating frequency condition of the tuned mass damper
with respect to main system i.e., when ω*1 = ω*2. The operation range varies
significantly with the mass ratio, this can be shown by the graph ω/ ω*2 vs. µ.
The denominator of response amplitude equation from article 3.4(b) is called
the frequency equation and gives the natural frequencies of system upon
solving. Upon substituting ω*1 = ω*2, the equation is solved to get two
natural frequencies in the form of ratio ω/ ω*2. A graph of ω/ ω*2 vs. µ is plot
to get the natural frequencies for different values of mass ratio.

Figure 4.4 Frequency v/s mass ratios

The above graph ( Figure 4.4 ) clearly shows that there exist two naural frequencies for a particular mass
ratio

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CHAPTER 5. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF TMD

In voltage transmission lines.

Figure 5.1: TMD in voltage transmission line.

Negative damping can be controlled by using TMD in voltage transmission lines.
ATC Tower Delhi Airport in New Delhi, India — a 50-ton tuned mass damper
installed just beneath the ATC floor at 90m.

BRIDGES:
• London millennium bridge,
• Akashi Kaikyo.

5.2 (a) 5.2(b)

Figure 5.2 a) London Millennium Bridge.

b) TMD used under the bridge

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5.3 Typical TMD below steel floor

TALL STRUCTURES.

Taipei 101 towers.

Citicorp tower, Manhattan

Figure 5.4 (a) Figure 5.4 (b)

Figure5.4 (a) Location of Pendulum TMD inside Taipei 101 towers.
(b) Pendulum TMD used in Taipei 101 towers.
(b)

Figure 5.5: Circular passive damper in chimney

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Fig 5.6(a) Fig 5.6 (b)

Figure 5.6 (a) and (b): Failure of water tank during Bhuj Earthquake, India.

In the above pictures Water tank acted as a absorber system to the building which is a primary
system.
In both the pictures we can observe that the water tank has scarified itself saving the primary structure.
Though we can see some damage on the top floors of the buildings it is because the water tanks were not
designed as TMD, but during earthquake they have behaved as TMD accidently saving the building from
total collapse.

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CHAPTER 6. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Anju Krishna. P.1, Aswathy P2

( PG Student, Department of Civil Engineering, APJ Abdul Kalam Kerala
Technological University )
A tuned mass damper is a passive energy dissipating device which is compressed of amass, spring
and a damper. The idea behind these type of dampers is that if a smaller mass is attached to the
multiple degree of freedom system and its
parameters are tuned precisely, then the oscillation of the whole system can be reduced by this
smaller mass. Some investigations are carried out to identify the importance and performance of
tuned mass damper in different structures. The study went on different paths such as alignment,
placement, type, it's kind of applications etc. In every study, each aims on the optimization of
parameters of the dampers to bet maximum results and thereby reducing the displacement of the
structure under seismic forces.

Prashant Thorat1* - PG Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, JSPM‘s

ICOER, Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
M. P. Bastwadkar2 - Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, JSPM‘s
ICOER, Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Now a days, structures are continuously increasing in the construction industries which are having
a very low damping value. The structures can easily fail under structural vibrations induced by
earthquake and wind, some several techniques are available today to control the vibration of the
structure, TMD is one of these techniques are use today. Some investigations are carried out to
identify the importance and performance of tuned mass damper in different structures. In this
thesis, a one-storey and a two-storey building frame models are developed for shake table
experiment under sinusoidal excitation to observe the response of the structure with and without
TMD. The TMD is tuned to the structural frequency of the structure keeping the stiffness and
damping constant. Various parameters such as frequency ratio, mass ratio, tuning ratio etc. are
considered to observe the effectiveness and robustness of the TMD in terms of percentage
reduction in amplitude of the structure. From the study it is observed that, TMD can be
effectively used for vibration control of structures.
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CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION
• TMD is effective for controlling structural response to harmonic excitation.

• TMD can be effective for lightly damped structure.

• TMD is an effective method of reducing the vibrations induced in tall structures and also
economical.

• Its application is also found in machineries and automobiles since they have got nearly
constant operational frequency.

• TMD reduce the vibrations of the floors effectively and can be used under the floors of public
buildings to reduce the vibrations caused due to pedestrian movements.

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REFERENCES

• John R. Sladek and Richard E. Klinger(1982),“Effect of Tuned Mass Dampers on Seismic

Response”, Journal of the Structural Division, Vol.109, pp 2004-2009.

• Dr. Mohan M. Murudi, Mr Sathyachandra M, “Seismic effectiveness of Tuned Mass

Damper for different ground motion parameters” 13th World conference on Earthquake
Engineering Vancouver, B.C Canada August1-6,2004 paper no 2325

• Frahm, H. (1911). Device for damping of bodies. US Patent No: 989,958

• Leung, A. Y. T., Zhang, H. (2009). Particle swarm optimization of tuned mass dampers.
Engineering Structures. 31:3, 715–728.

• Marano, G. C., Greco, R., Chiaia, B. (2010). A comparison between different optimization
criteria for tuned mass dampers design. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 329:23, 4880–90.
• Den Hartog, J. P. (1947). Mechanical vibrations, McGraw-Hill, 3rd ed, New York

• Anil K. Chopra (2001), “Dynamics of Structures-Theory and Applications to Earthquake

Engineering” 2nd edition, Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd.

• William T. Thompson (2000). “Theory of Vibration with Applications” 5th edition , Pearson
education Inc.

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