Mitigation of wind response of a tall building using semi-active tuned mass dampers

In this study, the effectiveness of semi-active tuned mass dampers (STMDs) for the response control of a wind-excited tall building was investigated. To this end, a 76-storey, 306 m benchmark building proposed for the city of Melbourne, Australia was used. Across wind load, data from wind tunnel tests were employed as excitation. A variable damping device and a magnetorheological (MR) damper were used to compose STMDs. A groundhook control algorithm was used to appropriately modulate the damping force of the semi-active damper. The control performance of the STMD was compared to that of a sample TMD, an active TMD (ATMD) and a semi-active variable stiffness TMD. The robustness of the STMD was investigated through the uncertainty in the building's stiffness. This study also investigated whether each of the mass dampers could satisfy the design requirements and constraints. The numerical studies show that the STMD can reduce the structural responses similar to an ATMD, but with a significant reduction in power consumption. It is also shown that the STMD with a 50 kN capacity MR damper can effectively control a full-scale tall building subjected to wind excitation, and it can satisfy the design requirements and constraints of the benchmark problem. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.