Active Multiple Tuned Mass Dampers for Reduction of Undesirable Oscillations of Structures Under Wind Loads

Active multiple tuned mass dampers (AMTMDs) consisting of several active tuned mass dampers (ATMDs) with uniform distribution of natural frequencies have been proposed for vibration mitigation of structures under wind loads. In this regard, the optimum parameter criterion is defined as the minimization of the root-mean-square (RMS) displacement and acceleration responses of the structure with the AMTMD. Meanwhile, the effectiveness criterion is defined as the ratio of the minimum RMS displacement and RMS acceleration of the structure with the AMTMD to those without the devices, respectively referred to as the displacement and acceleration reduction factors (DRF and ARF). With these two criteria, the influences of the selective parameters on the effectiveness and robustness of the devices for vibration control under wind loads are studied. In addition, the stroke of the AMTMD is examined by quantitatively assessing the RMS displacement of each ATMD. Results indicate that in comparison with a single ATMD, the AMTMD can cause more reduction in the displacement and acceleration responses of the structure under wind loads. The stroke of the AMTMD is greater based on the ARF than the DRF criterion. In particular, the simulation results in the time domain confirm that by resorting to the AMTMD, a large control force can indeed be decentralized into many smaller control forces without losing the level of response reduction.