Vibration Response Suppression of Space Structure using Two U-Shaped Water Container

Abstract

Nowadays, a passive vibration control technique using dynamic vibration absorbers (DVA) has drawn many researchers’ attention in the structural dynamic field. The reason is that this technique is simple and it can work effectively in reducing the vibration response when its parameters are optimally designed. The DVA fundamental concept is the addition of a new vibration system to the primary system. This new system addition causes reduction of the vibration response of the primary system during excited by a dynamic load. One simple technique to realize the DVA for structural application is by using water vibration. This research is aimed to develop one type of dynamic vibration absorber using the water vibration system in a U-shaped container for a two-story building structure model. Besides being used as the dynamic absorber, this U-shaped container is also functioned as the water storage tank in the building. Regarding reduce the first bending mode response of the structure in x-z and y-z plane, two U-shaped water storage tanks are placed on the upper floor of the building. The dimensions of the water storage tanks are designed so that the natural frequency of moving water in the tank is the same as the natural frequency of the first bending mode of the structure in x-z and y-z plane. The performance of dynamic absorber is evaluated by applying the impulsive and seismic loads on the building. The simulation results show that the U-shaped water storage tank placed on the upper floor of the building can reduce the response amplitude of the structure under impulsive loads. Meanwhile, for the seismic load case, the performance of dynamic absorber is clearly seen when the excitation frequency is close to the natural frequency of the building structure.