Optimization of Tuned Mass Dampers by Considering Soil-Structure Interaction and Uncertainty in Soil Parameters

Abstract

The tuned mass damper (TMD) is one of the oldest and most widely used passive control devices, designed to absorb lateral energy from structures and mitigate vibrations. Various methods have been proposed for the optimal design of TMDs to minimize structural responses in buildings. However, many of these approaches overlook soil-structure interaction (SSI). Among the few studies that do account for SSI, most rely on certain soil parameter values. In reality, however, soil parameters are uncertain and can vary due to environmental factors such as soil water content. This study introduces an innovative method for optimizing TMDs by incorporating soil parameter uncertainties. The method's effectiveness is evaluated by comparing TMDs optimized using the proposed approach, TMD designed by incorporating soil parameter uncertainties (TMD-UNC) with those optimized using certain soil parameters values (TMD-CRT) and those optimized without SSI consideration (TMD-FB). A 6-story shear building model with 200 uncertain soil scenarios is used for the comparison. The results showed that, on average, TMDs optimized for uncertainty marginally outperformed TMD-CRT-Mid, which is optimized with the midpoint of soil parameter ranges. However, these TMDs outperformed TMDs optimized for stiffest and softest soil conditions in reducing responses of uncertain systems. All these TMDs proved significantly more effective at reducing structural responses than the TMD designed for a fixed-base condition. © 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers.