Experimental investigation on dynamic characterization and seismic control performance of a TLPD system

The tuned liquid damper (TLD) and particle damper (PD) have been used as effective passive vibration absorbers to suppress undesirable structural vibrations induced by dynamic loads such as earthquake and strong winds. In this paper, through an integrated use of the TLD and PD, a new damper system named the tuned liquid particle damper (TLPD) was developed. The dynamic characteristics of TLPD in terms of tuning conditions and transfer functions were investigated through a series of shaking table tests. Nonlinear behaviors of TLPD in the frequency domain were discussed, and a preliminary framework was applied in the design of a five-story steel frame building model using shaking table tests. Testing results confirmed the workability of the preliminary design framework as the primary structure is subjected to earthquake loadings. Performances of different TLPD-structure systems were summarized from these testing programs. One of observations is that the TLPD system worked as a modified TLD in this study. The testing programs provide proof-of-concept results for this proposed vibration absorber.