Tuned Sloshing Water Dampers as Displacement Response Reduction Device: Experimental Verification

Existing structures can be retrofitted against earthquakes with tuned sloshing water dampers (TSWD). These dampers can be incorporated in the structure as displacement response reduction devices for avoiding failure of masonry panels while ensuring their structural function as diagonal struts. The proposal of retrofitting for an existing four story building with TSWDs has been examined through simulated experiments on a reduced scale model of the structure mounted with actual size TSWD. The effectiveness of the single frequency TSWD systems, optimally designed for response control of accurately assessed structures, against well-defined excitations, has been substantiated. Experiments have been conducted with multi-frequency TSWD systems for approximately assessed structures against broadband excitations. The multi-frequency sloshing water damper system exhibited a comparatively robust performance against broadband excitations for a reasonable range of structural frequencies. A retrofitting scheme for the structure has been proposed with multi-frequency TSWD systems.