Jun 2026· Journal of Civil Engineering and Planning· Vol 7, pp. 88-102· 0 citations
Abstract
An inerter is a two-terminal mechanical element capable of generating a force proportional to the relative acceleration between its terminals, thereby enhancing the inertial effect in structural systems. The integration of an inerter with a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) forms a Tuned Mass Damper Inerter (TMDI) system, which has the potential to improve vibration control performance under seismic excitation. This study aims to evaluate the effect of implementing TMDI on the dynamic response of building structures. The optimal design parameters of the TMDI were determined numerically by varying the frequency ratio (f) and damping ratio (ξ) based on the minimization of structural displacement response. The structural model analyzed in this study is a 12-story building equipped with a TMDI connected between the top floor and several lower floors. The analysis was conducted using a 12-story MDOF model based on MATLAB, with parameter optimization performed using the fminimax function and time-history evaluation under several earthquake records. The results show that connecting the TMDI to at least the 6th floor can reduce the structural responses in terms of displacement, acceleration, and velocity by approximately 50%, 41%, and 36%, respectively, compared with the structure without an inerter. In addition to providing greater response reduction, the TMDI system requires a smaller additional mass compared with a conventional TMD. To achieve approximately 20% response reduction, the TMDI requires a mass that is about four times smaller than that required by a TMD.
Efficient and practical seismic control of structures-particularly through isolation systems-remains a significant challenge due to high implementation costs and construction complexity. Moreover, their application in retrofitting existing structures often requires extensive modifications.To address these challenges, this study proposes a novel and cost-effective seismic control system, termed the Ridge-Isolated Tuned Mass Damper (RITMD), which integrates the advantages of tuned mass damping and seismic isolation. A reduced-order two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) model is developed to capture the coupled dynamic behavior of the primary structure and the RITMD system. An optimization framework based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to determine the optimal tuning parameters. Subsequently, closed-form design expressions are obtained using nonlinear regression analysis to facilitate practical engineering applications .The proposed approach is further extended to three-dimensional structural systems, and its performance is evaluated through nonlinear time-history analyses under bidirectional earthquake excitations. The results demonstrate that the RITMD system significantly reduces structural responses, including displacements, accelerations, inter-story drifts, torsional demands, and their corresponding root-mean-square (RMS) values.Overall, the proposed system provides an efficient, practical, and versatile solution for enhancing the seismic performance of both new and existing structures.
Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) are widely adopted passive vibration control devices used to mitigate structural oscillations induced by wind and seismic actions. Conventional TMD systems typically involve relatively small auxiliary masses installed near the top of tall buildings. This paper investigates an alternative strategy for seismic retrofitting of existing structures based on large mass ratio TMDs obtained through building superelevations. In this approach, one or more additional storeys supported by seismic isolation devices behave as large tuned masses capable of reducing structural response during earthquake excitation. A comprehensive parametric numerical investigation is carried out in order to evaluate the influence of the mass ratio, structural period and damping characteristics on the effectiveness of the system. The results are summarized in a set of design charts that allow engineers to determine optimal tuning parameters. In particular, by using the obtained design abaci they can find a solution which minimizes both displacement and acceleration.
R. Montuori, E. Nastri, P. R. Marrazzo· The eurasia proceedings of s...· 0 citations
This study investigates the seismic behaviour of a 10-storey shear-type building subjected to eleven near-field earthquake records while explicitly accounting for nonlinear soil-structure interaction (SSI). To improve seismic performance, a novel multiple active friction-tuned mass damper (MAFTMD) framework is proposed by integrating multiple friction-tuned mass dampers (MFTMDs) with an enhanced integral-derivative tilted (I-DT) control strategy. The nonlinear behaviour of the supporting soil is represented using the Hardin-Drnevich model, enabling strain-dependent stiffness degradation and damping effects to be captured under stiff, soft, and very soft soil conditions. The parameters of the MTMD and MFTMD configurations, along with the gains of the enhanced I-DT controller implemented in the MAFTMD system, are optimized using a multi-objective thermal exchange optimization (MOTEO) algorithm. The optimization simultaneously minimizes peak storey displacement and acceleration while satisfying inter-storey drift ratio constraints. The results demonstrate that incorporating friction mechanisms significantly enhances energy dissipation and structural response mitigation as compared to conventional MTMD systems. Furthermore, the proposed MAFTMD framework provides the most stable and effective overall performance under varying near-field earthquake characteristics and nonlinear soil conditions. The study also shows that nonlinear SSI strongly affects the performance and optimization of structural control systems. Overall, the proposed framework combines friction-based damping, active control, and nonlinear soil modelling to improve the seismic performance of mid-rise buildings under near-field earthquakes.
Morteza Akbari, M. Seifi, T. Falborski et al.· Archives of Civil and Mechan...· 0 citations
This study investigates the seismic performance of rigid-block-like structures equipped with a base isolation system enhanced by an array of parallel tuned mass damper–inerter devices (TMDIs). The protected structure, a typical data-center server rack, is modeled as a rigid cabinet that may experience uplift, rocking motion, and overturning under strong ground excitation. A comprehensive mechanical model is developed to describe the coupled rocking–translational dynamics of the cabinet, the isolation base, and the attached TMDI system, including impact and failure conditions. An extensive parametric investigation is carried out by varying the isolation period, the number and mass ratio of the TMDs, as well as the inertance associated with both the isolation base and the TMDs. The dynamic response is systematically evaluated through behavior maps, which identify full-contact, rocking, and overturning regimes in selected parameter planes. Numerical simulations are performed considering two cabinets with different slenderness and three historical earthquake records with distinct spectral characteristics. The results demonstrate that the proposed protection strategy is capable of significantly enlarging the safe response region, reducing both the minimum isolation period required to prevent uplift and the maximum displacement of the isolated base. Inerters attached to the TMDs are found to be particularly effective, while base-connected inerters provide additional benefits when combined with TMDIs. The effectiveness of the system is shown to depend on cabinet slenderness and seismic input characteristics. Overall, the study highlights the potential of parallel TMDI arrays as a robust and flexible solution for enhancing the seismic response of base-isolated rigid-block structures.
A. D. Di Egidio, Alessandro Contento, Manuel Ferretti· Journal of Vibration and Con...· 0 citations
The adoption of a supplemental damping system in building structures dissipates a portion of the seismic input energy, thereby reducing the amount of energy dissipated through inelastic behaviour (hysteretic damping) within the structural elements. Viscoelastic Dampers (VEDs) are utilized to reduce post-earthquake damage and are employed in this study. However, since different VED layouts result in varying dynamic responses, a comparative study of the dynamic responses of structures with various VED layouts is conducted using nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA). This research aims to compare inter-story drift and structural yielding by analysing the dissipated hysteretic energy and the amount of inelastic damping within the system elements of three building prototypes, each having a different VED horizontal distribution (layout configuration). A 30-story RC SMF is chosen as the seismic force-resisting system. The control variables are the number of VEDs per story and the location of the floors where the VEDs are installed. The results of the study show that a dense distribution of VEDs on the building facade (M1) provides the best performance, followed by a dense distribution in the building interior (M3), and a loose distribution on the facade with VEDs located at the corner bays (M2).
Rionathaniel M. P. N., Bondan Dhifan Mazaya, P. Sarli· IOP Conference Series: Earth...· 0 citations
Wind turbines in seismically active regions are increasingly vulnerable to earthquake-induced vibrations due to their growing height and flexibility. Effective vibration control is therefore essential to ensure structural safety and operational reliability. This study examines the performance of a novel compact nonlinear magnetic damper with non-contact restoring and damping force generation in mitigating the seismic response of wind turbine towers. The tower is modeled through a three-degree-of-freedom modal representation, corresponding to the first three fore–aft mode shapes obtained from a finite element–based modal analysis. A synthetic acceleration record was then developed by averaging the frequency content of five well-known earthquakes to represent their dynamic characteristics, providing a comprehensive excitation spectrum for evaluation. The damper parameters were optimized using a Bayesian optimization framework, with the root-mean-square of tower-top displacement adopted as the objective function. The optimized configuration was subsequently assessed under each individual earthquake record to evaluate its robustness. Results show that the proposed damper, together with the optimization scheme, achieves 36–65% reductions in RMS tower-top displacement and maintains consistent performance across different ground motions. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of the magnetic damper in enhancing the seismic resilience of wind turbine structures and provide a promising direction for integrating smart damping technologies into renewable energy systems.
