Robust design of a TMD for vibration serviceability of footbridges accounting for structural and loading uncertainties

For the design of a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) for footbridges, its mass, stiffness and damping constant must be tuned to the modal parameters of the main structure to satisfy vibration serviceability requirements. To account for uncertainties in that modal parameters and for variations in the loading, a robust TMD design is proposed. The trade-off between the TMD performance and the level of uncertainty is evaluated gradually using a multi-interval approach. The procedure is illustrated for a slender footbridge subjected to continuous pedestrian traffic. The TMD is tuned satisfying the constraints for vibration serviceability in uncertain circumstances. A probabilistic load model is used accounting for variations in pedestrian characteristics in the response prediction considering a worst case scenario. It is found that the minimally required TMD mass increases for a larger uncertainty range of the modal parameters. The multi-level approach is useful to evaluate the additional effort for a robust design ensuring the performance in nominal and uncertain circumstances.

ISBN:9789073802940

Jaar van publicatie:2016

BOF-keylabel:ja

IOF-keylabel:ja

Authors from:Higher Education

Toegankelijkheid:Closed