Parametric Study of Pounding Tuned Mass Damper Based on Experiment of Vibration Control of a Traffic Signal Structure

AbstractIn the last few years, a new type of passive damper, the pounding tuned mass damper (PTMD), has been proposed and studied for passive structural vibration control. Experiments and numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of PTMDs. Studies have shown that PTMDs have a larger vibration dissipation capability and better robustness than traditional tuned mass dampers (TMDs). The design of a PTMD involves several parameters, and a numerical parametric study has been performed, but no experimental parametric study of a PTMD has been carried out. This paper experimentally studies the parameter sensitivity of the pounding tuned mass damper for a traffic signal structure. The control of free vibration and forced vibration at different harmonic frequencies are obtained to assess the sensitivity of the PTMD. This study considers four parameters: the viscoelastic (VE) material thickness, the gap between the delimiter and vibrating rod, the mass ratio, and the natural frequency of the PTMD. The parametric studies yield interesting findings that can guide future design of PTMDs.