Increase of a high rise buildings damping behaviour by applying Large Scale Tuned Mass Dampers

Christian MEINHARDT Dr.-Ing., Project Engineer GERB Vibration Control Systems Essen, Germany christian.meinhardt@gerb.de
Born in 1975, Christian Meinhardt studied structural engineering at the Technical University Berlin and specialized in structural and soil dynamics. His first contact with Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) was during an undergraduate research internship at the KATRI and the Kobori Institute in Japan. After he received his degree in 2001 he worked in the fields of structural dynamics at the Federal Research Institute of Material Research and Testing. In 2006 he joined GERB Vibration Control Systems where he is also in charge of TMD projects.

Summary
The following paper introduces the application of large scale Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD) on high rise buildings to increase the buildings structural damping. Therefore the TMD effect and the practical handling of the optimum TMD specification are briefly described. Construction principles and the achievement and testing of the required specifications, as well as the experimental verification of the TMDs effectiveness - measuring the buildings ambient vibrations and using several methods to determine the structural damping will be portrayed. Finally an example project for a successful and demanding application of a TMD will be introduced. Keywords: Tuned Mass Dampers, High Rise Buildings, Structural Damping, In-Situ Assessment

1. Introduction
The distinctive trend in designing and constructing tall buildings is the use of lightweight materials and slender structures to achieve a maximum height with a relatively small dead load. The negative side effect of the improved capacity of materials and constructions is very low structural damping of these structures and the associated high susceptibility to horizontal and lateral wind induced vibrations. The resulting vibrations are most often due not to problems in bearing capacity but rather to a reduction in building comfort for certain heights. To reduce the occurring vibrations, it becomes essential to increase the structural damping ratio of these structures. That accession can be achieved by increasing the structural mass or by applying Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs), which usually abate the vibrations of long span structures such as bridges or ceilings. Compared to the structural mass that is required to have a significant change of the structural damping, the mass of the TMD that needs to be applied is relatively small. Compared to the applications on footbridges or long span ceilings that can be excited by human activities, it is rather difficult to verify the effectiveness of a large scale TMD due to the lack of reproducible load conditions. The following paper introduces practicable approaches to develop large scale TMDs and to verify its specifications. It will also introduce methods for an in-situ assessment of the effectiveness and will introduce a project where a large scale TMD has been successfully applied.

2. Fundamentals and Specifications

Under an excitation induced by wind loads, tall buildings show free vibrations corresponding to their first horizontal natural vibration mode. That system can be simplified as a lumped mass model with the structural mass mS and a structural stiffness kS that corresponds with the systems horizontal natural frequency. A TMD is a vibrating mass that displays movements which are contrary to those

of the main structure. To attain these contrary movements, the mass has to be supported in a way that it can perform its own free vibrations controlled by the application of a damping element and it has to be tuned for the frequency that has to be eliminated. The naturally occuring contrary movements cause inertial forces that compensate the structures movements by depriving vibrationenergy from the structure. That leads to an increase of the structural damping cS. The vibration reducing effect of a TMD can be illustrated with an additional lumped mass, linked to the structure but able to perform vibrations. (Fig. 1).
mS

uS uT
mT

mS

lT, cd

ks,cs

Fig. 1: TMD effect simplified as a two- lumped mass model The two-lumped mass model contains all relevant information of the structure such as its stiffness and its structural damping, which define the natural frequency fS. The TMD is described by its effective mass mT, the pendulum length that defines the tuning frequency fT and the damping ratio cd of the damping element. Using these terms for the analytical solution of a 2-mass model, the Tuned Mass Damper effect can be shown with an amplification function for a 2-mass model (see Fig 2a).

Fig. 2: Amplification function of a 2-mass model illustrating the TMD effect It can be seen that the horizontal motions are reduced due to the application of the second mass. Additionally the interaction between TMD and structure causes a subdivision of the natural frequencies. Resulting from the increase of the structural damping, the frequency range in which the amplifictaion occurs broadens. The effectiveness of the TMD is defined by three parameters, the tuning frequency fT, the damping systems damping ratio cD and the effective mass of the TMD mT. The optimum specification for fT and cD depending from the TMD mass can be determined using DEN HARTOGs formulation (1).
f opt = fT 1 + mT / m S

opt =

3m T / m S 8(1 + m T / m S ) 3

(1)

The interaction between these parameters characterizes the performance of the TMD and its practical application. Figure 2b elucidates this by showing the dependencies of the effectiveness eq. reduction ratio from the mass ratio as well as the frequency ratio. It can be seen that a downward de-

tuned TMD does not effect the reduction ratio when the mass ratio is sufficiently high. Also a higher damping ratio of the TMD damping does not effect the reduction ratio but broadens the frequency range in which the TMD gives a good performance. The mass ratio also effects the motion of the TMD mass, with a higher mass, smaller motions are required to achieve a certain reduction. Generally small motions should be aimed to control the TMD motions as well as to maximize the lifecycle of all dynamically loaded joints and mounting parts of the TMD. Also with that relation an optimum ratio between TMD mass and allowable TMD motions according to the space requirements of the TMD can be found.

3. Practical Application for Large Scale TMDs

3.1 Frequency Tuning The most practicable, solution that allows a precise frequency tuning with a maintainable effort for a large scale TMD is a pendulum system. For such systems, the tuning frequency corresponds with the required pendulum length. Specifying the required pendulum length, the dynamic stiffness of the necessary damping system cD has to be considered (see (2)). Therefore specific information about the damping device is required (see chapter 3.2). Neglecting the rotational inertia around the centre of mass due to a big ratio pendulum length/ height tuning mass, the tuning frequency can be derived from a mathematical pendulum, (likewise see (2)). With this simplification slightly higher tuning frequencies are determined, which have no effect on the TMD efficiency.
f0 = 1 2 g cD + l mT

(2)

Since the interaction between structure and TMD, which is the main purpose of a TMD application, inhibits the in situ determination of the tuning frequency, the previous design has to avoid any nonlinear factors that influence the tuning frequency. Usually these factors are related to the stiffness of the bearing constructions and their influence has to be estimated or avoided. An important design criteria is the required space to apply an large scale TMD, which is defined by the pendulum length of the TMD. To reduce the seized space a folded pendulum system can be applied, which uses an additional frame to reduce the pendulum length by factor 2 (see Figure 6). Again, additional calculations have to be done to estimate the influence of the pendulum frames stiffness. 3.2 Verification of the optimum damping ratio Several systems can be used to be applied as damping elements, such as one-dimensional shock absorbers or friction dampers (see Figure 3).

Fig. 3: Utilized Damper Systems for large scale Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs)

Shock absorbers show a different performance under tensional load and pressure load (asymmetrical characteristics). To achieve a viscous damping behaviour, the shock absorbers have to be arranged with angles above 45 which decreases their effectiveness so an adjustment to an optimum damping ratio is hard to achieve. Additionally, shock absorber systems show a various long term behaviour and are maintenance intensive compared to other systems. Friction damper systems work with stacked mass plates, which shift against each other due to the motion of the TMD mass. The damping coefficient is proportional to the mass of the plates, so for large scale TMDs, additional masses beside the effective TMD mass increase the load on the structure. The friction between the plates leads to an energy dissipation. The damping characteristic of these systems is nonlinear since the friction is bigger for smaller movements of the TMD. Because the occurring motion of tall buildings vary with the arising wind speeds, the applied TMD should be effective for small and bigger motions, so the required damping ratio should be similar for small and bigger motions of the building. Therefore a linear, ideally viscous damping is desired. Only a dashpot damper, with an almost Newtonian Fluid that shows a viscosity which is independent from the shear velocity, provides a viscous damping behaviour in all spatial directions. A viscous liquid filled dashpot damper
provides all required specifications, even for bigger TMD motions and can be adjusted by defining the dampers shear planes and the viscous liquid fill-level .
150 100

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

F
Weg Motion s [mm]

50 0 -50 -100 -150 Zeit Time t [s]

F(t)

0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 -1 -0.5 0 s(t) 0.5 1

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Zeit Time t [s]

Fig. 4: Experimental determination of the damping coefficient concept for the experimental setup (left)- time history of the applied force and the measured movements (centre) measured force/motion diagram ( right)
Due to the already mentioned interaction between structure and TMD, the dampers specifications can only be assessed by previous shop tests, where the time history of the by a hydro pulse cylinder applied force F

and the resulting movements s of the dampers plunger are recorded (see Fig. 4). The values can be displayed in a Force/ Motion Diagram. The damping coefficient d can be established from the area Wd that is described by the hysteresis of this diagram (see (3)).
Wd = d y 2

Force F [kN] Kraft

(3)

The time history graphs for s and F show a phase difference , according to the harmonic excitation they can be described as time dependent functions (4).
F ( t ) = F sin t

s( t ) = s sin( t )

(4)

From these functions result the values for the characteristic points of the hysteresis as shown in Fig. 5. With the formulation for these characteristic points a determination of the area from the measured data F, s and the resulting is possible (5). The elastic energy We, saved in the damping element is equivalent to the hatched area in Fig. 5 (6). The ratio between the dissipated and the elastic energy (7) leads to the determination of the damping ratio (critical damping) (8).

F
s cos

F
F sin s sin

W d = F s sin
F cos

(5)

s
F cos
s sin F sin

We =

1 F s cos 2

(6)

=
s cos

Wd = 2 tan We

(7)

(8)

Fig. 5: Values for characteristic points of the hysteresis (force/motion diagram) Additionally the in chapter 3.1 mentioned dynamic stiffness of the damping system cD can be determined according to the force/motion diagram (9).
cd = F cos s

(9)

According to the introduced derivation, all necessary specification parameters for the damping system can be estimated by the described shop tests. 3.3 In-Situ Verification of the TMD- Effectiveness The In-Situ Verification of the TMD Effectiveness can result from several methods. Since only ambient vibration measurements are available for high-rise buildings, a determination, analyzing the decaying behaviour solely in the relevant natural frequency is not possible. Additionally the input forces are unknown, which also excludes analyzing methods such as cross-correlation or crossspectral methods. One possible method is to use an autocorrelation of the recorded time domain signal (see Fig. 6a) but can only be used for isolated vibration modes and is strongly dependent on the intensity of the input. Since the structural damping is nonlinear, the achieved results display a certain variation.

Fig. 6:

a) Autocorrelation of a time domain signal - b) Principle of the Half Power Band Width Method

Another possible method is the Half Power Band Width method (see Fig. 6b). This method is only applicable if the structure is excited in only a dominant natural vibration mode and the resulting frequency spectrum is expressed. This is the case for tall and slender structures. An even simpler method is the comparison of the resulting frequency spectrums for a similar ambient vibration due to wind excitation whereas the wind speed acts as a reference value. A method that is also applicable for structures which not only display vibrations in one dominant natural frequency is the Random Decrement Method (Fig. 7). Based on the theory that the random excitation consists of a deterministic component which corresponds to free vibration terms and a random component which corresponds to forced vibrations, the random part can be eliminated by averaging a large number of blocks extracted from the time domain signal with a length . The blocks are chosen with the help of a threshold level. The Random Decrement Signature (RDS) results from (10) and the resulting damping ratio can be derived by (11), whereas the quality of the RDS strongly depends on the selection of the segment duration . and the threshold yS.
y(t)
Random Time Domain Signal

yS

t1 t2

THRESHOLD THREESHOLD

t3

t4

THREESHOLD

THRESHOLD

t
2

Random Decrement Signature

2 3

Fig. 7: Principle of the Random Decrement Method

( ) =
1 M

m =1

y( t m + )

(10)

1 ln n 2 n +1

(11)

The Random Decrement method has been approved for system identification analyses of structures and buildings ( [2],[3],[4]).

4. Project Example Sport City Tower Doha

4.1 Introduction The Aspire Tower is a 318 meter (1,050 feet) structure located in the Sports City complex in Doha, Qatar. Designed by architect Hadi Simaan, and AREP and engineer Ove Arup and Partners, Aspire Tower served as the focal point for the 15th Asian Games hosted by Qatar in December 2006. An assesment of the buildings dynamic performance indicated, that additional damping would be needed to reduce lateral accelerations at the top under wind loading to improve comfort levels. A feasibility study of various options for a total of 3% critical damping showed, that a TMD directly below the highest viewing levels was the most practical solution for the range of predicted frequencies. Therefore a TMD with an effective mass of 140 t, designed as a folded pendulum system was installed within the tower core (see Fig. 8) which reduced the height of the required envelope by about a half, but needed a rigid frame to transfer the tension between the first and second stage . Shaping the TMD mass in this way facilitated fitting the TMD within the circular plan shape of the core (Fig. 8). Energy dissipation of the TMD is achieved by dashpot dampers, which also incorporate bumper stops to prevent excess movements of the mass in extreme situations.

The detailed design, manufacture, testing and tuning was undertaken by GERB Vibration Control and shall be described here.

Fig. 8: Left - Sport City Tower Doha after completion; Centre: Layout of the TMD within the structure; Right: completetd 140t TMD 4.2 Verification of Specifications The previously calculated damping factor of the damper system which was required for the 140 t TMD had to be tested before the installation of the TMD on site. A hydro-pulse cylinder system was used to apply forces that were similar to the expect forces do to the TMD operation. Beside the confirmation of the required damping factor, the determination of the dampers dynamic stiffness cD was the objective of these tests (see Fig. 9a).
a)
250 200 150 Weg Motion s [mm] 100 50 0 -50 -100 -150 -200 -250 0 10 20 30 Zeit Time t [s] 40 50 60 F(t)
0.9 0.2 1.8 0.4 2.7 0.6 3.6 0.8 4.51

b)
0,0025

0,002

cdyn

F cos

0,0015

m m /s

5 4 3 Kraft Force F [kN] 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 0 10 20 30 Zeit Time t [s] 40 50 60

- 0.9 -0.2

0,001

-0.4 - 1.8

0,0005
-0.6 - 2.7

- 3.6 -0.8

0
- 4.5 -1

0
-0.8 -176 -0.6 -132 -0.4 -88 -0.2 -44 0 s(t) 0.2 44 0.4 88 0.6 132 0.8 176 1 220

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

-1 -220

Frequency [Hz]

Fig. 9: a) Results (force/motion diagram) of the experimental determination of the damping factor and dynamic stiffness [6] b) frequency spectrum of the ambient lateral vibration of the tower to determine the relevant natural frequency (0.22Hz)[5] Knowing the dynamic stiffness and determining the relevant natural frequency on site (Fig. 9b), the fine tuning of the TMD could be carried out, varying the pendulum length according to (2). 4.3 In-Situ Verification of the TMD-Effectiveness The effectiveness of the installed TMD could be documented by comparing the determined structural damping ratio before and after the installation. To assess the structural damping ratio, all in chapter 3.3 introduced methods were exercised and showed a good conformity of the achieved re-

sults (see Fig.10). Due to the TMD application the structural damping ratio could have been increased from 1.4 % critical damping to 3.4 %.
a)
0.00005 0.000045 0.00004 0.000035 0.00003 [mm/s] 0.000025 0.00002 0.000015 0.00001 0.000005 0 0.02

b)
0.1 0.08

blocked TMD
0.06

Random Decrement Signature to determine structural damping

released TMD
0.04

Threshold

0.02 0 -0.02 -0.04 -0.06 -0.08 -0.1

0.07

0.12

0.17

0.22

0.27

0.32

0.37

0.42

0.47

Frequency [Hz]

Fig. 10: a) Resulting frequency spectrum to determine the effectiveness of the TMD b)Determining the structural damping with/without TMD using Random Decrement Method

5. Conclusion
Beside the challenge to design dynamic devices such as a 140 ton TMD and ensure all of its specifications by preliminary tests, the challenge to document the effectiveness of a TMD application on a high-rise building can be achieved using practical identification methods. The determined results show that the application of a large scale TMD is an efficient solution to reduce occurring wind induced horizontal and lateral vibrations with a comparatively small effort and a comparatively small additional mass. The reduction leads to an increase of comfort and to possibilities for ever lighter and slender structures.

6. References
[1] [2] PETERSEN, C.; Schwingungsdmpfer im Ingenieurbau, Maurer Shne, Mnchen 2001 WENZEL, H.; Ermittlung dynamischer Dmpfungswerte fr Brcken aus dynamischen Messungen; VDI Berichte Nr. 1941 Baudynamik, 2006 WENZEL, H.; Ambient Vibration Tests on Highrise Buildings; Trends in Tall Buildings, TU Darmstadt, 2001 WENZEL, H.,PICHLER D.,SCHEDLER,R.; Ambiente Schwingungsmessungen zur System und Schadenserkennung an Tragwerken, Bauingenieur 74, 1999 COLE, H.A.; On-Line Failure Detection and Damping Measurement of Aerospace Structures by Random Decrement Signatures, Nielsen Engineering, Mountain View, 1973 DALMER F., MEINHARDT, C; Final Measuring Report of vibration measurements for an essential precision tuning at the Sport City Tower Doha/Quatar, Gerb Vibration Control Sstems, 2007 STOCK F.; Internal Report Experimental Determination Damper System for TMD Sport City Tower Doha, Gerb Vibration Control Systems, 2006 CLOUGH R.W., PENZIEN J.; Dynamic of structures, CSI Computers and Structures, Berkeley (California) 2004

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