Vibration control of an irregular structure using single and multiple tuned mass dampers

The tuned mass damper is a passive control technique, which is used in high-rise building structures for mitigation of the vibration produced as a result of wind and earthquake loadings. Irregularity in structure increases the chances of vibrations produced from these loadings. In this paper, detailed experimental work was carried out for vibration mitigation of an irregular four-storey structure having mass irregularity at its fourth floor using a single tuned mass damper (STMD) and multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs), against different harmonic and seismic loadings; such work has never been carried out before. The positions of STMD and MTMDs were varied along each floor and all possible configurations of STMD and MTMDs were tested against these loadings. For comparison, the acceleration responses of each storey for all configurations of STMD and MTMDs were compared with that of the uncontrolled structure. It was found that under all types of loadings, the STMD reduces the acceleration response of all floors of the uncontrolled structure; similarly, all configurations of MTMDs show further reduction in acceleration response, demonstrating the efficiency of MTMDs over a STMD in irregular structures.