Successful Implementation of Performance-Based Damping Framework in Tall Buildings

Buildings are getting taller, slenderer, and more susceptible to wind-induced motion. Increasing mass or stiffness are options considered to control building responses, requiring more construction material and less useable floor areas. Alternatively, performance-based damping systems may be considered. Performance-based damping marries the fields of structural dynamics and damper technologies together with wind engineering and wind tunnel technologies to develop optimum damper designs proven to improve building performance. The paper presents case studies of two main types of damping technologies that have been successfully implemented in projects worldwide: tuned mass damper (TMD) and tuned sloshing damper (TSD) systems. One component of performance-based damping that was key to their successful implementation is the constant coordination with the client. The use of irregular-shaped TSD systems to fit within project spatial constraints highlights another important aspect of performance-based damping: having rational or scientific basis via laboratory-scale testing. Another case study, where the damper mass was determined based on first-principles-based tools, was later reduced in size after nonlinear time domain analyses were used. Finally, case studies that involve innovative TMD systems with more complicated pendulum configurations and requiring less space than simple pendulum TMDs, are discussed. In each of these case studies, a monitoring system was installed that simultaneously recorded damper and building motions, with the data processed to demonstrate how the modelled performance of the damping system is in close agreement with the as-built performance.