The response of structures equipped with tuned liquid dampers of complex geometry

Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) employ sloshing fluid to reduce the resonant response of structures. Existing structure-TLD models are limited to rectangular or circular tanks, shapes that may not always be feasible in practice due to geometric restrictions of the building floor plan. This paper utilizes an equivalent linearized mechanical model and a nonlinear multimodal model to predict the response of the structure-TLD systems where the TLD tank geometry is irregular. Experimental structure-TLD system tests are conducted that consider two irregular tank shapes. Response history plots and frequency response plots of the structural displacement and TLD wave heights are created to evaluate the models using the experimental results. The parent distributions and 10-minute peak distributions of the structural displacements and TLD wave heights are created for the simulated and experimental results. These distributions indicate that both the linearized and nonlinear models can accurately predict the structural response; however, the linearized model substantially underestimates the peak wave heights. Since wave heights are required to establish the required tank free board, or roof impact pressures, it is concluded that nonlinear analysis of the structure-TLD system model is required before a TLD design is finalized.