INTRODUCING A NEW TUNED MASS DAMPER SYSTEM

Tuned mass dampers (TMD) are effective and reliable structural vibration control devices commonly attached to a vibrating primary system for suppressing undesirable vibrations induced by winds and earthquake loads. This paper introduces a newly developed semi pendulum TMD system. The proposed device is composed of a specific configuration of rolling parts which provide a long natural period for the device along with providing the appropriate force transmission or energy dissipation capacity for the system. The effectiveness of the device has been shown by a simple experimental prototype of the device. The proposed system can be utilized for various structural bodies such as buildings, bridges, etc. It can also be used for both new and existing systems to improve their seismic performance for retrofitting purposes. It can be concluded that the proposed device is a proper substitute for the conventional TMD systems in longperiod as well as shorter-period structures to mitigate the seismic/wind induces vibrations in a more efficient way in terms of the overall size and/or energy dissipation capacity.