Semiactive Tuned Liquid Column Dampers: Experimental Study

Abstract

A tuned liquid column damper (TLCD) is a special type of auxiliary damping device which relies on the inertia of a liquid column in a U-tube to counteract the forces acting on the structure. Damping in the TLCD is introduced as a result of headloss experienced by the liquid column moving through an orifice. The primary objective of this paper was to examine the performance of a prototype semiactive TLCD. Experiments were conducted to determine the dynamic characteristics of a coupled structure-TLCD system. The experimental setup included a prototype TLCD attached to a model of a single-degree-of-freedom structure which was mounted on a shaking table. The prototype TLCD was equipped with an electropneumatic valve to provide optimal damping at a wide range of structural motion amplitudes. The optimum absorber parameters, i.e., the optimal tuning ratio and damping ratio, were determined experimentally and compared to the analytical results obtained previously reported by the writers. A control strategy based on gain scheduling was utilized, which was designed to maintain the optimal damping based on a prescribed