Damping and Motion Control in

Buildings and Bridges

Brian Breukelman, M.E.Sc., P.Eng

brian.breukelman@wspgroup.com

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Objectives & Agenda

 Objectives:
 Become familiar with dynamic responses, particularly wind induced response
 Understand what damping is and how various damping systems operate

 Topics to be covered today:

 What is damping and why is it important?
 Vibration basics
 Some history of damping systems, including early projects
 Contemporary examples

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 A bit about the presenter

 Masters’ graduate of the University of

Western Ontario, Alan G. Davenport
Wind Engineering Group, 1994

 Engineer at Rowan Williams Davies &

Irwin Inc. (RWDI), 1994 - 2001

 Founder (with RWDI) of Motioneering

Inc., 2001

 Principal at CPP, 2006 – 2009

 Consultant at CPP, 2009

 Manager, WSP Group, 2014

What is damping & why is it

important?

 Damping is the ability for a dynamic system to remove energy

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 Vibration Basics: stiffness, mass &
damping

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)
M
 M = Mass

 C = Damping

 K = Stiffness

 F(t) = applied forces

What causes building and bridge

motion?

 Wind

 Earthquakes

 Pedestrians

 Other – mechanical systems, temperature, etc..

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 What causes building and bridge
motion?

 Wind

Wind Engineering

4
Wind Engineering

Wind Engineering

Credits: RWDI

5
 What causes building and bridge
motion?

 Earthquake

Credits: Jeffrey Erochko, U of T

What causes building and bridge

motion?

 Pedestrians

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 History of motion Control

 Mechanical Systems

 Structural Vibration

Credits: Hubbel Power Systems

Mechanical Systems – Frahm

Damper

Credits: Textron Inc.

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 Traditional Structural Engineering
Approaches

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)
M Mx  Cx  Kx  F (t )

 Modify mass – make structure lighter or heavier, different structural

schemes can change modes shapes, effectively making structure
dynamically heavier/lighter

 Modify stiffness – increase size of columns, beams, etc., reduce spans

 Modify aerodynamic shape (in wind sensitive structures)

Mechanical Engineering
Approaches

 Shock absorbers

 Frahm (1909)

 Dynamic Vibration Absorbers (Den Hartog)

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 Methods of Adding Damping

 Viscous Damping

 Viscoelastic Damping

 Tuned Mass Damper (TMD)

 Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD)

 Tuned Sloshing Water Damper (TSWD)

 Active Mass Damper (AMD)

 Hybrid Systems

Viscous Damping

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)
M

 Viscous damping adds damping directly to the structure. The inherent

energy dissipation (through strain of concrete, friction of connections
and partitions, etc.) is supplemented by viscous losses in added
dampers

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 Viscous Damping

Credits: FIP Industriale

Viscous Damping

 Advantages:
 Does not require tuning to a building frequency
 Passive, no power required to operate

 Disadvantages
 Generally need to be distributed through building
 May need amplification of stroke to ensure sufficient displacement
 Wind/seismic responses needs careful consideration
 Access to all viscous dampers required for inspections

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 Viscoelastic Damping

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)
M

 Viscoelastic damping adds damping and some stiffness directly to the

structure. The inherent energy dissipation (through strain of concrete,
friction of connections and partitions, etc.) is supplemented by energy
dissipated in the straining of the viscoelastic material

Viscoelastic Damping

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Viscoelastic Damping

Credits: Michael Montogomery, U of T

Viscoelastic Damping

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 Viscoelastic Damping

 Advantages:
 Does not require tuning to structure
 Passive, no power required to operate

 Disadvantages
 Generally required to be distributed through structure
 Heat dissipation (for wind induced motion) needs careful consideration
 Access to all VE dampers required for inspections

Tuned Mass Damper

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)
M
y  cd y  kd y  0
md 

x1  (C  cd ) x1  (K  kd )x1  cd x2  kd x2  F(t)

M
x2  cd x2  kd x2  cd x1  kd x1  0
md 

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 Tuned Mass Damper

 Advantages:
 Concentrates energy dissipation in single, effective location
 Passive, no power required to operate
 Single location maintenance and inspections

 Disadvantages
 Requires reasonable amount of space
 Required to be tuned to frequency of structure (pendulum, springs, etc.)
 Can become mechanically complex

Tuned Liquid Column Damper

(TLCD)

 Similar system dynamically to a TMD (added mass system)

 Added mass is liquid in “U-shaped” tank

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 Tuned Liquid Column Damper

 Advantages:
 Concentrates energy dissipation in single, effective location
 Passive, no power required to operate
 Single location maintenance and inspections
 Does not require pendulum, springs, etc., as tuning is based on geometry
 Water can be used for firefighting water

 Disadvantages
 Requires significant amount of space
 Required to be tuned to frequency of structure (pendulum, springs, etc.)

Tuned Sloshing Water Damper

(TSWD)

 Similar to TMD and TLCD – added mass in secondary system

 Rectangular or circular tank has specific sloshing frequency

 Tuned to the frequency of the building/tower/bridge

Credits: RWDI

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 Tuned Sloshing Water Damper

 Advantages:
 Concentrates energy dissipation in single, effective location
 Passive, no power required to operate
 Single location maintenance and inspections
 Does not require pendulum, springs, etc., as tuning is based on geometry
 Water can be used for firefighting water

 Disadvantages
 Requires significant amount of space
 Required to be tuned to frequency of structure (pendulum, springs, etc.)

Active/Semi Active Dampers

 Active Mass Dampers seek to counter motion with force to cancel

effects of applied force:

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)  Fd (t)

M

 Semi-Active dampers actively adjust damping and stiffness in response

to applied forces.

x  Cx  Kx  F(t)  Fd (t)

M

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 Active/Semi Active Dampers

Credits: Kareem, et al, Notre Dame

Active/Semi Active Dampers

 Advantages:
 Device can reduce wind and seismic response of structures
 Can be more effective than TMD, TLCD, TSWD using lower mass
 Single location maintenance and inspections

 Disadvantages
 Requires power to operate (will there be power in the building when the
damper is required?), power backup may be required
 Requires significant amount of space, though less than TMD, etc.
 Mechanical complexity can be high
 Cost for the system can be high

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 Hybrid Systems

 Magnetorheological dampers

 Electrorheoligical dampers

Hybrid Systems

 Shape Memory Alloys

Credits: FIP Industriale

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 Historical Examples

 Citicorp Building, NY

Historical Examples

 John Hancock Building, Boston

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 Historical Examples

 CN Tower, Toronto

Historical Examples

 Chiba Port Tower, Japan (1986)

 Active Mass Damper

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 Contemporary Examples

 Trump World Tower, New York City, NY

 Bloomberg Building, New York City, NY

 Sakhalin Island Drilling Rig, Russia

 111 Huntington Building, Boston, MA

 Random House Building, New York City, NY

 Las Vegas Pedestrian Bridges, Las Vegas, NV

 Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan

 Pentominium Tower, Dubai, UAE

Trump World Tower

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Trump World Tower

Credits: RWDI

Trump World Tower

Credits: RWDI

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Bloomberg Building, NY

Bloomberg Building, NY

Credits: RWDI

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Sakhalin Island Drilling Rig

Credits: Constantinou

Sakhalin Island Drilling Rig

Credits: Constantinou

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Sakhalin Island Drilling Rig

Credits: Constantinou

111 Huntington Bldg, Boston

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111 Huntington Building, Boston

Credits: Taylor Devices

Random House Building, NY

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Random House Building, NY

Credits: Thornton Tomasetti

Random House Building

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Las Vegas Pedestrian Bridges

Las Vegas Pedestrian Bridges

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Taipei 101

Taipei 101

Credits: RWDI

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Taipei 101

Credits: RWDI

Taipei 101

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Taipei 101

Taipei 101

Credits: RWDI

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Pentominium Tower, Dubai, UAE

Pentominium Tower, Dubai, UAE

Credits: CPP Inc.

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 Want to learn more?

 Wind Engineering:
 CPP Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado (www.cppwind.com)
 RWDI (www.rwdi.com)

 Damping Systems
 FIP Industriale (www.fip-group.it)
 Kinetica (www.kineticadynamics.com)
 Enidine Inc. (www.enidine.com)

Thank you for your attention!

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