Optimal Design and Analysis of Nonlinear Tuned Mass Damper System

Abstract

The tuned mass damper (TMD), as a representative passive control device, has been widely used in various fields such as mechanical vibration and civil engineering. In practical engineering applications, nonlinear characteristics of the TMD inevitably occur due to the installation of limiting devices or large displacements. Neglecting such nonlinearity may adversely affect the control performance of the TMD. Based on this situation, the parameters of the nonlinear tuned mass damper (NTMD) were analyzed, considering the linear and cubic nonlinear stiffness of the TMD, in order to improve its control performance. In this paper, a numerical model of a single-degree-of-freedom controlled structure using an NTMD was established, and the complex variable averaging method was employed to derive the response expression of the structure under the 1:1 resonance condition. Subsequently, the nonlinear design equation for the NTMD frequency was obtained. Based on this nonlinear design formula, the design accuracy was analyzed under 1:1 resonance, undamped and softened stiffness conditions. The results indicate that the NTMD based on a nonlinear design exhibits good control performance.

Keywords

• tuned mass dampers
• nonlinear design
• passive control device
• approximate analysis method