Comparative Studies on Structures with a Tuned Mass Damper and a Particle Damper

Abstract

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the research and development of a new kind of passive control device named a particle damper, which has a very similar configuration and application method to the tuned mass damper; however, the damping mechanisms are different. Hence, systematic comparative studies on these dampers are very important for future applications. In this paper, three cases including single-degree-of-freedom structure, 5-story linear-elastic steel frame and 2-story nonlinear benchmark building, are used as primary structures to compare the structural performance with optimal tuned mass damper and optimal particle damper. The optimal parameters of the particle damper are designed by a differential evolution algorithm and the optimal parameters of the tuned mass damper are designed by the classical Den Hartog theory, providing the same additional mass. The numerical simulation shows that the properly designed particle damper certainly has better vibration control effect than that of the optimal tuned mass damper, not only for elastic performance indexes, but also for nonlinear performance indexes, such as the number and maximum rotation of plastic hinges, and energy dissipation of components. Moreover, the more obvious advantages are that, compared with the optimal tuned mass damper system, the optimal particle damper can significantly reduce the relative displacement between primary structure and the damper itself, as well as its better robustness.