Improving performance of a super tall building using a new eddy-current tuned mass damper

Summary Two kinds of methods have been primarily used to improve the vibration performance of high-rise buildings. One approach is to enhance the structural lateral stiffness, which may increase the component size and inefficiently use material. The other approach is to employ vibration control devices, such as tuned mass dampers (TMDs), tuned liquid dampers (TLD) and other supplemental damping devices. This latter approach has proved to be quite economical and efficient, and as such, increasingly used in practice. The Shanghai Center Tower (SHC) is a super high-rise landmark building in China, with a height of 632 m. In order to mitigate its vibration during wind storms, a new eddy-current TMD was installed at the 125th floor. Special protective mechanisms were incorporated to prevent excessively large amplitude motion of the TMD under extreme wind or earthquake scenarios. Results of reduced-scale laboratory tests and field tests are presented in this paper to characterize the dynamic properties of the damping device and validate the fidelity of the numerical results. Results of structural analyses indicate that for SHC the eddy-current TMD was able to reduce wind-induced structural acceleration by 45%–60% and earthquake-induced structural displacement by 5%–15%. The installation of the TMD was completed in December 2014, and the performance observed to date is judged to be good. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.