Optimal Tuned Mass Damper Properties to Reduce the Response of Floors Subjected to Rhythmic Induced Loads

Resumo

Building floors designed for gyms can present high level of vibration due to human induced dynamic
load during rhythmic activities. This problem can be solved by increasing the structural stiffness and damping, or
by using passive energy dissipation devices known as tuned mass damper (TMD). This paper analyses a steel-deck
slab subjected to dynamic load due to rhythmic activities and relates the maximum acceleration of the model with
the material damping ratio. Four material damping combinations are analyzed and a two-dimensional equivalent
orthotropic plate is proposed to represent the slab tridimensional behavior. A parametric study is performed, where
an optimization process is employed to find the best combination of stiffness and mass of a tuned mass damper
that minimizes the mass required to achieve a given vibration reduction. The vibration attenuation ranges from
10% up to 80% reduction of maximum acceleration of the reference model without any damping absorbing device.
The results showed that the structure with lowest structural damping ratio is the most sensitive to the presence of
the tuned mass dampers. Moreover, increasing in the TMD damping ratio can significantly reduce the total mass

required to achieve a certain main structure vibration reduction, proving that this solution can be a great cost-
effective approach to mitigate structural unwanted vibrations.