Real-time hybrid simulation of multi-story structures installed with tuned liquid damper

Abstract

As a low cost and maintenance energy-absorbing device, tuned liquid damper (TLD) is being widely used to suppress structural vibration. In this paper, the real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is employed to investigate the performance of TLD for controlling seismic responses of actual multi-story structures, where the TLD is experimentally modeled as physical substructure and the multi-story structure is numerically simulated as numerical substructure. Taking advantage of RTHS technique, a methodology for achieving full-scale TLD experiments is developed through suitable similarity design; a new interaction force measurement method and a new dual explicit algorithm are embedded into RTHS system to enhance simulation capability. First, the seismic response of a two-story structure installed with TLD is analyzed by applying RTHS. Correspondingly, the pure shaking table test is performed to assess the accuracy of the RTHS. Then, the effectiveness of TLD for structures with various numbers of floors and different structural properties is tested through RTHS by varying the simulation model of the numerical substructure. Finally, the effects of mass ratio and structural damping ratio on a given TLD-structure system are investigated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.