Damping effects of the passive control devices on structural vibration control: TMD, TLC and TLCD for varying total masses

Three passive vibration control devices that consist of a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD), a Tuned Liquid Damper (TLD) and a Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) are experimentally investigated in this paper. A scaled three-story steel building structure coupled with each device is employed to evaluate the damping effect of each controller. This research experimentally presents that the mass and damping of passive devices are the key factors in structural vibration suppressing. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), frequency modes and the total mass of devices are used to calculate the Power Spectral Density (PSD) values. As a benchmark, a rigid mass has been attached in the same way on the top floor of the structural model and then the experimental tests are conducted. Results of the comparison between responses of coupled Mass-Structure systems and the control structural systems identify the effects of the mass and damping on the mitigation of structural vibration for each control strategy.