Effectiveness and robustness of using nonlinear pendulum tuned mass damper inerters for wind-induced vibration mitigation of high-rise buildings

Abstract

Tall buildings are at risk of experiencing vibrations induced by the wind because of their long fundamental periods and low inherent damping. These excessive vibrations can threaten the structural safety and the comfort of residents. For this reason, pendulum tuned mass dampers (PTMDs) are commonly employed to reduce the adverse vibrations of high-rise buildings. However, their applications are often accompanied by concerns over the large auxiliary mass required and overabundant swing angles. To tackle the above issues, this study investigates the potential of using inerters to enhance the conventional PTMDs for achieving more effective wind-induced vibration mitigation performance of high-rise buildings. In particular, the concepts and working mechanisms of two nonlinear pendulum tuned mass damper inerters (NPTMDIs) with different configurations are first presented. Subsequently, the analytical models of a high-rise building equipped with NPTMDIs are established, and the optimal parameters of NPTMDIs are obtained via genetic algorithm by minimizing the maximum top-floor absolute acceleration of the building structure. Ultimately, the vibration control effectiveness of the two NPTMDIs is evaluated and contrasted with that of a conventional PTMD. Moreover, the robustness of NPTMDIs against structure and device parameter variations is also comprehensively evaluated. The results demonstrate that NPTMDIs demonstrate greater effectiveness compared to PTMD in mitigating the wind-induced responses of the high-rise building with much smaller swing angles of the tip mass, and they exhibit better robustness against the mistuning issue induced by the perturbations of structural stiffness and damping. Besides, compared to NPTMDI with configuration Ⅱ, the vibration control effectiveness and robustness of NPTMDI I are more significant.