A Simple Method for the Design of Optimal Damper Configurations in MDOF Structures

Abstract

Existing methods for the design of optimal configurations of supplemental dampers are usually not simple enough to be used routinely and typically lead to different damper sizes at virtually every story. One exception is the Sequential Search Algorithm, which lets the designer control the number of different damper sizes. In this paper, a simplification to the Sequential Search Algorithm is proposed so that the resulting procedure, designated as Simplified Sequential Search Algorithm, can be easily integrated into conventional design procedures used by practicing engineers dealing with damper-added structures. In the case of linear viscous dampers, it was found that the efficiency of damper configurations given by the proposed Simplified Sequential Search Algorithm is comparable to the efficiency of damper configurations given by more sophisticated procedures. The applicability of the method is limited to those cases where the response of the structure with added dampers remains linear.