Performance of multiple tuned mass dampers-inerters for structures under harmonic ground acceleration

This paper proposes a novel high performance vibration control device, multiple tuned mass dampers-inerters (MTMDI), to suppress the oscillatory motions of structures. The MTMDI, similar to the MTMD, involves multiple tuned mass damper-inerter (TMDI) units. In order to reveal the basic performance of the MTMDI, it is installed on a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure excited by the ground acceleration, and the dynamic magnification factors (DMF) of the structure-MTMDI system are formulated. The optimization criterion is determined as the minimization of maximum values of the relative displacement's DMF for the controlled structure. Based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to tune the optimum parameters of the MTMDI, its performance has been investigated and evaluated in terms of control effectiveness, strokes, stiffness and damping coefficient, inerter element force, and robustness in frequency domain. Meanwhile, further comparison between the MTMDI with MTMD has been conducted. Numerical results clearly demonstrate the MTMDI outperforms the MTMD in control effectiveness and strokes of mass blocks. Additionally, in the aspects of frequency perturbations on both earthquake excitations and structures, the robustness of the MTMDI is also better than the MTMD.