Performance of an array of tuned mass dampers for the mitigation of the 3D response of highrise buildings

In this paper a control system made of an array of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) for the mitigation of the translational and torsional response of tall buildings subjected to wind load is optimally designed. In the first part of the paper a methodology for the optimal design of the control system made of an array of TMDs is presented. The procedure is aimed at calibrating the TMDs’ tuning parameters, including stiffness and damping, taking into account the technological constraints of the devices. The minimization of the flexural and torsional responses is chosen as target of the optimization problem. In the second part of the paper, the performance of the control system is investigated taking into account the effects of the type of load, the load directionality and the structural mass eccentricity on the optimal tuning parameters of the array of TMDs. Real forcing functions obtained from wind tunnel tests on reduced scale models of tall buildings are used for the parametric analyses.