Received: 7 July 2017 Revised: 27 August 2017 Accepted: 3 October 2017

DOI: 10.1002/stc.2114

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Study on self‐adjustable tuned mass damper with variable

mass

Weixing Shi1 | Liangkun Wang1 | Zheng Lu1,2

1
Research Institute of Structural
Engineering and Disaster Reduction,
Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Disaster
Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji
University, Shanghai 200092, China
Correspondence
Zheng Lu, State Key Laboratory of
Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering,
Tongji University, Shanghai 200092,
China.
Email: luzheng111@tongji.edu.cn
Funding information
National Natural Science Foundation of
China, Grant/Award Number: 51478361
and 51478361
Summary
Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) represent a quite mature technology for control-
ling human‐induced vibrations of footbridges, when they are tuned to the
primary structure's fundamental frequency. However, the TMD is very sensitive
to even a small change in the tuning ratio. This paper proposes a novel TMD
named self‐adjustable variable mass TMD (SAVM‐TMD), which is capable of
varying its mass and retuning its frequency on the basis of the acceleration ratio
between the primary system and the TMD. The accelerations are obtained from
two acceleration sensors, and the frequency adjustment is achieved by using a
microcontroller and actuating devices. The acceleration ratio limit value should
be set in the microcontroller firstly, and when the adjustment begins, the
microcontroller will retune the TMD to a reasonable frequency region, under
a specific harmonic excitation. The SAVM‐TMD can be regarded as a passive
control device capable of adjusting its frequency. The performance of SAVM‐
TMD is studied via both experimental studies and numerical simulations under
different pedestrian excitations. It is found that the SAVM‐TMD is effective in
reducing the response and improving the equivalent damping ratio of the
primary system when the structural frequency changes, with little power
consumption. The results obtained from the experimental studies and the
numerical simulations agree with each other very well. More pedestrian
vibration situations are studied in the numerical simulations, and the results
also show that the SAVM‐TMD has excellent performance in controlling
human‐induced vibrations.

KEYWORDS
footbridge, human‐induced vibrations, passive control, self‐adjustable tuned mass dampers, tuned
mass dampers, variable frequency

1 | INTRODUCTION

With the development of architectural creativeness and structural technologies, many unprecedented sophisticate and
innovative pedestrian bridge structures are designed, and both the ultimate limit state and the serviceability limit state
should be evaluated. Because of the new esthetic view and high‐performance materials, lighter and slender footbridges
become more and more common in various cities. However, these footbridges usually have low inherent damping and

Struct Control Health Monit. 2017;e2114. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/stc Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 of 16
https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2114
2 of 16 SHI ET AL.

low stiffness, which might cause notable vibrations under pedestrian excitations.[1] Some of them have worldwide
attractions such as the Millennium footbridge in London and the Solferino footbridge in Paris.[2,3]
In order to solve the serviceability problem, many slender footbridges are equipped with tuned mass dampers
(TMDs), such as the Changi Mezzanine Bridge,[4] the Van Beethoven footbridge,[5] and the footbridge of VW
Autostadt.[6] The idea of TMD was studied and patented by Frahm in 1911.[7] A single TMD usually consists of a mass,
which connects to the primary system by some springs and a dashpot. When tuned to the fundamental frequency of the
structure, a TMD can minimize the structural resonant response.[8–10] The TMD can give the primary system an inertia
force to control its vibration response and dissipate the energy of the primary system through its dashpot. Because the
TMD has small size and little interference to the primary system, it is widely used in the lighter and slender footbridges
against human‐induced vibrations.[11–13]
However, TMDs have narrow effective bandwidth and are susceptibility to the frequency ratio. It is well known that
the optimum TMD parameters can be obtained through optimization.[14,15] If the nature frequency of the primary system
shifts due to structural degradation or other reasons, TMDs will lose their effectiveness due to mistuning.[16,17] When
there is a frequency deviation between the TMD and the primary system due to various reasons, the TMD cannot reduce
the human‐induced vibration effectively.
In order to improve the performance of TMDs, many new kinds of passive TMDs and tuned liquid column damper
(TLCD) are generated. Nagarajaiah[18] proposed adaptive passive TMDs. Matta et al.[19] developed mass‐uncertain
rolling‐pendulum TMDs for the seismic protection of buildings. Chang et al.[20] proposed a new field‐based design
procedure and an adjustable vertically moving TMD, which composed of variable mass blocks and changeable springs.
Casado et al.[21] studied a control system for an adaptive tuned mass damper for self‐climbing formworks, which can be
used in some critical construction phases of concrete piers. Berardengo et al.[22] proposed an adaptive TMD based on
shape memory alloys and eddy currents. Lu et al.[23–26] incorporated particle damping technology into traditional TMDs.
Feudo et al.[27] proposed a TMD endowed with changeable stiffness and eddy currents damping. Yuvaraja et al.[28]
proposed a shape memory alloy‐based adaptive‐passive dynamic vibration absorber for vibration control in piping
applications. Williams et al.[29] proposed an adaptive‐passive absorbers using shape‐memory alloys. Acar et al.[30]
introduced an adaptive–passive dynamic vibration absorber composed of a string–mass system equipped with negative
stiffness tension adjusting mechanism. Considering TLCD can adjust mass easily, Gur et al.[31] proposed a tuned liquid
column ball damper to control seismic vibration. Matteo et al.[32] introduced the optimal tuning of TLCD systems in
random vibration by means of an approximate formulation.
Although these new ideas and attempts can improve the traditional TMD in different degrees, searching for a more
economic and effective way which is simpler in detail and easier to implement in engineering is still very meaningful.
The human‐induced vibrations can cause a serviceability problem in terms of disturbing the users, but they rarely affect
the fatigue behavior or structural safety,[33] hence the primary structural frequency will not have a sudden change. The
change of the frequency of the primary system is slow and small. Consequently, it is unnecessary to retune the TMD in
real‐time. In order to retune TMDs, a kind of new TMD named self‐adjustable variable mass tuned mass damper
(SAVM‐TMD) is proposed in this paper. The SAVM‐TMD is capable of varying its mass and retuning its frequency on
the basis of the acceleration ratio between the primary system and the TMD. After retuning, the SAVM‐TMD is a passive
TMD. Therefore, the SAVM‐TMD can be regarded as a passive control device capable of adjusting its frequency and can
avoid many problems raised by the active control strategy.
This paper investigates the feasibility of retuning natural frequency of the SAVM‐TMD and its effectiveness under
different pedestrian excitations by experimental study and numerical simulations. The contents of this paper are
arranged as follows: Section 2 presents the detail of the SAVM‐TMD and its control algorithm. Section 3 presents a series
of model tests of the pedestrian bridge. The feasibility of retuning TMD in a mistuning situation and its effectiveness
under different pedestrian excitations are evaluated. Section 4 discusses some key parameters which have important
effects on the effectiveness of retuning and presents a numerical simulation of the SAVM‐TMD under various pedestrian
vibration situations.

2 | MEC HANIC AL ANALYSIS OF THE S AVM ‐TMD

2.1 | Model description

When the TMD's natural frequency deviates from the structural fundamental vibration frequency, the vibration
attenuation effect of the TMD decreases. In various mechanical parameters, the acceleration is not only easy to measure,
SHI ET AL. 3 of 16

but also an important index to the vibration response. In this paper, the accelerations of the TMD and the structure are
monitored to control their ratio larger than a certain limit value. If the acceleration ratio is larger than the limit value, it
can be thought that the TMD's frequency is similar to the structural frequency and their frequency ratio is in a
reasonable range. Hence, there is no need to retune the TMD. If the acceleration ratio is smaller than the limit value,
SAVM‐TMD will start up actuating devices to adjust its mass to retune itself until their acceleration ratio is larger than
that limit value. The SAVM‐TMD can be regarded as a passive control device capable of adjusting its frequency. After
retuning, the SAVM‐TMD is the same as a traditional passive TMD.
In order to meet the aforementioned requirement, two acceleration sensors are used to measure the TMD and the
structure acceleration respectively. A microcontroller is used to deal with the acceleration signal and control actuating
devices to adjust its mass. In this paper, water is taken as the variable mass, for example, and in engineering projects;
the variable mass could be sand, cement, etc. A schematic diagram of SAVM‐TMD is shown in Figure 1. The actuating
devices consist of a water tank and an electromagnetic valve.
As can be seen in Figure 1, one of the acceleration sensors is put on the TMD's mass, and the other is put in the
structure. A microcontroller receives acceleration sensors' signal and dispose them. An annular flume in the TMD mass
is used as the upper water tank and reserved as an adjustable mass. The TMD mass is supported by a spring which is put
on the top of the pedestal. Another annular flume is in the pedestal, used as the bottom water tank servicing for the
upper one. A water pump is in the bottom water tank, which can pump the water from the bottom water tank to
the upper one through the Channel I, controlled by the microcontroller. An electromagnetic valve sticks in the Channel
III, which is within the TMD mass. When it opens under the control of the microcontroller, the water in the upper water
tank flows into the bottom one. By this way, the TMD's mass can be adjusted to retune its frequency. A container filled
with silicone oil is in the middle of the pedestal, served as an energy dissipation element. An iron bar goes through the
Channel II within the TMD mass. The upper of the iron bar is fixed at the top surface of the mass through a nut, and
the end of it is in the silicone oil. The damper can obtain the optimum performance through adjusting the iron bar's
length embedded in the silicone oil.

2.2 | Dynamic response of SDOF system coupled with the SAVM‐TMD

The dynamic system consisting of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) primary structure and SAVM‐TMD excited by an
external excitation F(t) is illustrated in Figure 2.
It can be assumed that the external excitation takes the form F(t) = F0eiωt, where F0 is the forcing amplitude and ω is
its frequency. The motion equations of the dynamic system under an external excitation can be written as[16]:






 !
mp 0 €p
u cp þ cs − cs u_ p kp þ ks − ks up F 0 eiωt
þ þ ¼ (1)
0 ms €s
u − cs cs u_ s − ks ks us 0

FIGURE 1 Schematic diagram of the

self‐adjustable variable mass tuned mass
damper
4 of 16 SHI ET AL.

FIGURE 2 Illustration of the dynamic system coupled with self‐adjustable variable mass tuned mass damper under an external excitation

where mp and ms are the mass of the primary system and the TMD respectively. cp and cs represent the viscous damping
coefficient of the primary system and the TMD, respectively. kp and ks denote the stiffness coefficient of the primary
system and the TMD, respectively. up and us denote the absolute displacement of the primary system and the TMD,
respectively. The over‐dot indicates the derivative with respect to time.
ω
In order to express the equations of motion in terms of the design parameters, the excitation frequency ratio β ¼
ωp
ωs
and the TMD frequency ratio γ ¼ are utilized.
ωp
Then the Equation 1 can be written as

    F eiωt
€p þ 2ζ p u_ p þ up þ 2μγζ s u_ p − u_ s þ μγ 2 up − us ¼ 0 ;
u
kp (2)
   
€s þ 2γζ s u_ p − u_ s þ γ up −us ¼ 0
u 2

As the primary system's damping ratio is very small, it can be simplified that ζp = 0. In steady‐state, the acceleration
ratio between the TMD and the primary system can be obtained. The acceleration ratio can be written as
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
  u
u
€  u β4 þ ð2ζ s γβÞ2
r ¼   ¼ t
s
2 (3)
€p
u γ 2 − β2 þ ð2ζ s γβÞ2

2.3 | Analysis on the acceleration ratio

As can be seen in the Equation 3, the acceleration ratio relates to the damping ratio of the TMD ζs, TMD frequency ratio
γ and excitation frequency ratio β. ζs is decided in the design stage and can be regarded as a constant value. Taking
μ = 0.01 for example, according to the optimization formula from,[14] the ζs can be written as

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
3μ
ζs ¼ ¼ 0:06 (4)
8ð1 þ μÞ

Consequently, the relationship between acceleration ratio r and two variables (γ, β) can be illustrated in Figure 3.
By making derivation of the objective function r, it can be found that when TMD frequency ratio γ is equal to
excitation frequency ratio β, the acceleration ratio gets its maximum and Equation 3 can be written as:
SHI ET AL. 5 of 16

(a) (b)

FIGURE 3 The acceleration ratio with various tuned mass damper (TMD) frequency ratios and excitation frequency ratios. (a) 3D diagram
and (b) plane diagram

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1
r max ¼ 1þ (5)
ð2ζ s Þ2

The ζs is taken to be 0.06 as an example. Therefore, in Figure 3, all presented peak acceleration ratios are the same.
When ζs has been determined, the acceleration ratio is depended on TMD frequency ratio γ and excitation frequency
ratio β.
The goal of SAVM‐TMD is to retune the TMD frequency ratio to a reasonable range around 1.0 through limiting the
acceleration ratio larger than a limit value. As can be seen in Figure 3b, when the excitation frequency ratio β = 1.0 and
the acceleration ratio limit value is 8.0, the TMD frequency ratio γ is in the range (0.98, 1.01), which is a perfect condition
for vibration control. Therefore, the excitation frequency ratio β should be set to 1.0; otherwise, the TMD will be
mistuned. To achieve this target, one simple and reasonable way is to produce an artificial excitation which has the same
frequency as the primary structure's natural frequency. As for footbridges, it can be realized by letting a person step on
the footbridge under the guidance of a metronome, hence the excitation frequency ratio can be 1.0.
Besides, from the derivation conclusion and Figure 3b (β = 1.0), the monotonicity can also be seen clearly at two sides
of TMD frequency ratio γ = 1.0. The Equation 3 is only used for theoretical analysis. During the process of retuning the
TMD, a specific harmonic excitation is given to the primary system. Under this condition, the bridge is in steady state.
After retuning, the SAVM‐TMD is the same as a traditional passive TMD.

2.4 | Control algorithm

Because the serviceability problem will not cause a sudden change in the primary system's frequency, the SAVM‐TMD
does not need to be retuned in real time. For example, it can be retuned once a month. When it is time to retune the
TMD, the switch should be turned on. After retuning, the switch can be turned off and the TMD is then to be a passive
one. Therefore, the SAVM‐TMD needs very little power consumption.
Figure 4 shows the control algorithm flow chart. It can be seen that an acceleration ratio limit value r0 should be set
firstly, which can be obtained from Figure 3. For different r0, the TMD frequency ratio γ will have a different range. If the
damping ratio of TMD is different, Figure 3 will also be different, but the analysis is exactly the same. It is all decided by
the designer. When the switch is turned on and the artificial excitation, which has the same frequency as the primary
structure, is given to the primary system simultaneously; the microcontroller will receive two acceleration sensors' signal
and calculate their ratio r1. If r1 > r0, it will not retune the TMD and actuating devices will not be activated. If r1 < r0, it is
necessary to retune the TMD, but the microcontroller does not know whether to add or to reduce the TMD mass. There-
fore, the microcontroller will control the water pump to add a small quantity dm to the TMD mass tentatively, and the
dm is a fixed quantity designed by the designer. A gap time dt is set in the microcontroller. If the previous time of the
microcontroller receiving and calculating the acceleration ratio ri − 1 is ti − 1, and this time of the microcontroller getting
and calculating the acceleration ratio ri is ti, then the gap time is dt = ti − ti − 1. The gap time is used for actuating devices
to finish this step's adjustment, and it is depended on the work efficiency of actuating devices.
6 of 16 SHI ET AL.

BEGIN

Get the first acceleration ratio r1

F T
r1>r0 ?

Add dm OVER

r2>r1 ?
T F

Add dm Reduce dm
F F

ri>r0 ? ri>r0 ?

T T

OVER FIGURE 4 The control algorithm flow

chart

After the first gap time, the microcontroller will receive the two acceleration sensors' signals and calculate their ratio
r2. If r2 > r1, which means that adding the TMD mass is right, the microcontroller will control the water pump to add the
TMD mass and compare each time's acceleration ratio ri to r0 circularly until ri > r0. Then it will stop working, which
means that the adjustment is finished. If r2 < r1, which means that adding the TMD mass is wrong, the microcontroller
will control the electromagnetic valve to reduce the TMD mass and compare each time's acceleration ratio ri to r0
circularly until ri > r0.
To sum up, the control purpose is to make the acceleration ratio larger than a limit value. If not, the adjustment
begins. Due to the monotonicity of acceleration ratio function at two sides of TMD frequency ratio being 1.0 (shown in
Figure 3b), that is, only one peak exists, hence the method to search for this maxima is very easy.
From Section 2.3, it can be known that if the dm is small enough, the mass of the TMD will not exceed the reasonable
frequency ratio range; and the control algorithm is surely convergent, but it may take more time to retune. The dm is an
important parameter in this control algorithm and will be discussed in detail in Section 4.1. In practice, when actuating
devices do not work for a period of time, which means the adjustment has finished, then the switch can be turned off.
After retuning, the SAVM‐TMD is a passive TMD. Therefore, the SAVM‐TMD can be regarded as a passive control device
capable of adjusting its frequency. In addition to the function of adjustable mass, the design of the SAVM‐TMD is all the
same as the passive TMD.

3 | MODEL TEST OF P EDESTRIAN BRIDGE

3.1 | TMD test model and experimental procedure

In order to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of SAVM‐TMD, a series of pedestrian bridge model tests are
performed. The TMD model is 580 mm high, and the diameter of the mass is 400 mm. When the upper water tank is
full of the water, the weight of the mass is 22 kg. When there is no water in it, the weight of the mass is about 18 kg.
The stiffness of the spring is 3160 N/m. Therefore, its adjustable frequency range is (1.91 Hz, 2.11 Hz) and the TMD's
SHI ET AL. 7 of 16

FIGURE 5 The self‐adjustable variable

mass tuned mass damper model

design frequency is 2.00 Hz when the mass is 20 kg. The TMD model is shown in Figure 5. The simply supported bridge
model consists of a steel deck, which is put on four steel stools. The TMD is put on the middle of the deck.
As to the experimental procedure, in order to make the pedestrian bridge model natural frequency different from the
TMD, first of all, a free decay vibration test will be taken to identify the TMD's natural frequency and damping ratio. A
steel deck will be chosen specifically as the test model, whose natural frequency is different from the TMD. The second
step is to test whether the SAVM‐TMD could retune itself or not. The acceleration limit value will be set in the
microcontroller according to the damping ratio of the TMD. Then, a free decay vibration test will be taken to the
pedestrian bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD to validate whether the retuned TMD could improve
the primary system's damping ratio or not. Finally, a mark tine test and a pedestrian excitation test in different
frequencies will be carried out on the pedestrian bridge model to validate whether the retuned TMD could reduce the
structural acceleration response compared to the mistuned one.

3.2 | Free decay vibration test of TMD and test model

The SAVM‐TMD's damping ratio can be adjusted through changing the iron bar's length in the silicone oil. In order to
identify the TMD's natural frequency and damping ratio, a free decay vibration test is given to the TMD, in which an
initial displacement is set on the mass and then is released suddenly. At this test, the weight of the TMD mass is
20 kg. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to identify the TMD's natural frequency. The fitting exponential
function is used to identify the TMD's damping ratio.[34] The Hilbert envelope value of the response time history is given
to justify the precision of the fitting exponential function. The power spectra and the fitting exponential function are
shown in Figure 6. Note that the unit of acceleration “gal” means “1 cm/s2”.
In Section 2.3, ζs is taken to be 0.06 as an example. The experiment and simulation are both carried out based on this
example. As can be seen in Figure 6, the natural frequency of the TMD is 2.02 Hz, and the equivalent damping ratio is
0.06. Therefore, the acceleration ratio limit value in this test is set to be 8.0, which means the TMD frequency ratio range
is (0.98, 1.01), according to Figure 3b. In order to make the pedestrian bridge model natural frequency different from the
TMD, a steel plate has been chosen specifically. The gap time is set to be 1.0 s and the dm is set to be 0.1 kg.
In Section 3.5, a worker of 750 N will have a mark tine test and a pedestrian excitation test to the model. In order to
consider his weight, the worker stands statically in the middle of the deck firstly. Under the ambient excitation, the
simply supported bridge model can be identified to have a natural frequency of 1.91 Hz through FFT. It can be seen that
there is a 5.8% frequency deviation between the TMD and the simply supported bridge model. Therefore, it is necessary
to retune the TMD.

3.3 | Retuning test of TMD and test model

Since the frequency of the bridge model has been measured, in order to retune the mistuned TMD, a worker steps on the
middle of the footbridge under the guidance of a metronome, at the frequency of 1.91 Hz.
8 of 16 SHI ET AL.

FIGURE 6 (a) The power spectra density of the tuned mass damper and (b) the fitting exponential function of the free decay vibration test

When the worker is stepping, the switch which is on the microcontroller is turned on simultaneously. The sound of
the water pump can be heard clearly, and the water level in the upper water tank rises continuously. After a while, the
water pump stops working and the retuning test is over. Then, the switch on the microcontroller is turned off and
the power supply is cut off. Under the ambient vibration, the bridge model frequency may have an interference to the
identification of the TMD's natural frequency. In order to identify the TMD's natural frequency accurately, an initial
displacement is given to the TMD, and then it is released suddenly. The FFT is used to identify the TMD's natural
frequency and the power spectra of the retuned TMD is shown in Figure 7.
As can be seen in Figure 7, the frequency of the retuned TMD is 1.93 Hz with only 1.0% frequency deviation between
the TMD and the bridge model. In the below, in order to test whether the retuned TMD (1.93 Hz) could reduce the bridge
model vibration response, a free decay vibration test and a forced vibration test on the bridge model are chosen. There-
fore, the tests on the bridge model with mistuned TMD (2.02 Hz) are carried out before the retuning tests. To facilitate
the presentation, the free decay vibration test on the bridge model is introduced in Section 3.4, and the forced vibration
test is introduced in Section 3.5.

3.4 | Free decay vibration test of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD
In order to test whether the retuned TMD could improve the bridge model damping ratio comparing to the mistuned
TMD, a free decay vibration test has been taken on the bridge model. The deck is given an initial displacement, and it
is released suddenly. The fitting exponential functions of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD are shown
in Figure 8.

FIGURE 7 The power spectra of the retuned tuned mass damper

SHI ET AL. 9 of 16

FIGURE 8 The fitting exponential function of the bridge model. (a) with retuned tuned mass damper and (b) with mistuned tuned mass
damper

As can be seen in Figure 8, the bridge model equivalent damping ratio with retuned TMD is 1.9%, and its equivalent
damping ratio with mistuned TMD is 1.2%. Comparing to the mistuned TMD, the retuned TMD can improve the equiv-
alent damping ratio of the bridge model by 58.3%.

3.5 | Forced vibration test of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD
In this section, the worker will step on the middle of the deck at the frequency of 1.7, 1.9, and 2.1 Hz, under the guidance
of a metronome. Then, he will move from the end of the deck to the other and turn back at the frequency of 1.7, 1.9, and
2.1 Hz, under the guidance of a metronome. The results are compared by means of the maximum peak acceleration,
root‐mean‐square, and the maximum transient vibration value computed from 1‐s root‐mean‐square acceleration.[35]
The model responses under 1.9 Hz stepping excitation with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD are shown in Figure 9, and
the model responses under 1.9 Hz pedestrian excitation with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD are shown in Figure 10.
Table 1 shows the detailed results of all the forced vibration tests.
As can be seen in Figures 9 and 10 and Table 1, comparing to the mistuned TMD, the retuned TMD can reduce the
bridge model acceleration responses in all forced vibration test cases, and the performance of retuned TMD at the reso-
nant frequency is the best. From this model test, it can be obtained that the retuning of the SAVM‐TMD is feasibility and
convergent, and the retuned TMD is more effective in controlling the vibration of the bridge model.

4 | NUM ERI CAL SI MU LAT I ON S O F T HE S A V M ‐TMD

4.1 | Convergence study and parametric study

From the aforementioned control algorithm, the fixed quantity dm, the damping ratio of the SAVM‐TMD ζs, and the
acceleration ratio limit value are the three most important parameters, which will influence the convergence of the

FIGURE 9 The model responses under 1.9 Hz stepping excitation. (a) with retuned tuned mass damper and (b) with mistuned tuned mass
damper
10 of 16 SHI ET AL.

FIGURE 10 The model responses under 1.9 Hz pedestrian excitation. (a) with retuned tuned mass damper and (b) with mistuned tuned
mass damper

TABLE 1 Experimental performance assessment for forced vibration tests

Stepping test Pedestrian test

The tests conditions 1.7 Hz 1.9 Hz 2.1 Hz 1.7 Hz 1.9 Hz 2.1 Hz

Mistuned TMD (gal) Peak acceleration 23.1 153.3 38.9 35.0 213.7 78.4
RMS 7.7 77.1 15.1 10.9 98.4 26.7
Maximum 1‐s RMS 14.7 105.3 22.9 24.1 150.8 52.4
Retuned TMD (gal) Peak acceleration 15.6 68.7 23.7 23.2 113.1 50.6
RMS 5.4 36.8 9.1 7.4 54.1 17.7
Maximum 1‐s RMS 10.1 52.5 15.2 16.3 79.1 34.4
Reduction/% Peak acceleration 32.5 55.2 39.1 33.6 47.1 35.5
RMS 30.4 52.3 39.7 31.7 45.0 33.7
Maximum 1‐s RMS 31.1 50.1 33.6 32.3 47.5 34.4

Note. TMD = tuned mass damper.

control algorithm. If the dm is too large, the adjusting of the mass of the TMD may make its frequency exceed the rea-
sonable frequency ratio range. If the acceleration ratio limit value is set to be larger than the maximum acceleration
ratio, which is depended on the damping ratio of the TMD, the retuning of the TMD will be emanative and the actuating
devices will not stop working. Comparing to these three parameters, the gap time dt only influences the total retuning
time, but does no influence on the convergence. Hence, it is necessary to study and analyze these three parameters.
From Equation 3, it is clear that the acceleration ratio is depended on the damping ratio of the TMD. When the exci-
tation frequency ratio β is set to be 1.0, the acceleration ratio with various TMD frequency ratios and the damping ratios
are shown in Figure 11.
From Figure 11a, it can be seen that for every damping ratio of the TMD ζs, the acceleration ratio gets its maximum
when the TMD frequency ratio γ = 1.0. From Figure 11b, it can be seen that with ζs increasing, the acceleration ratio
decreases steeply. Although the acceleration ratio is expected to be larger, it is unreasonable to set the ζs to be too small.
In the Section 2 and Section 3, the ζs is set to be 0.06 for example, which is the optimum damping ratio when the mass
ratio is 0.01. Furthermore, the acceleration ratio with the TMD frequency ratio when ζs is set to be 0.04 and 0.08 are given
in Figure 12.
From Figures 3 and 12, it can be seen that for different ζs, the maximum of the acceleration ratio is different. For dif-
ferent acceleration ratio limit values, the corresponding convergent retuning frequency ratio ranges are also different. If
the acceleration ratio limit value is too small, the convergent retuning frequency ratio range will be too wide to be pre-
cise. If the acceleration ratio limit value is too large, the convergent retuning frequency ratio range will be so narrow that
the dm should be very small. Therefore, some typical convergent retuning frequency ratio ranges for different ζs and dif-
ferent acceleration ratio limit values are listed in Table 2.
How to design the damping ratio of the TMD is a difficult subject and beyond the scope of this paper. The suggestion
is that for different mass ratios, it can be designed through Equation 4. Then, the curve like Figure 12 (β = 1.0) can be
SHI ET AL. 11 of 16

FIGURE 11 Acceleration ratio curve. (a) Acceleration ratio with various tuned mass damper (TMD) frequency ratios and damping ratios;
(b) acceleration ratio with various TMD damping ratios when γ = 1.0

(a) (b)

FIGURE 12 Acceleration ratio with tuned mass damper (TMD) frequency ratios: (a) ζs = 0.04 and (b)ζs = 0.08

TABLE 2 Discussion on different parameters

ζs = 0.04 ζs = 0.06 ζs = 0.08

Limit value Frequency ratio range Limit value Frequency ratio range Limit value Frequency ratio range

12.0 (0.99,1.01) 8.0 (0.98,1.01) 6.0 (0.97,1.02)

11.0 (0.98,1.02) 7.0 (0.96,1.03) 5.0 (1.05,0.93)
10.0 (0.97,1.03) 6.0 (0.94,1.05) 4.0 (0.89,1.09)

drawn. As for the pedestrian bridge serviceability problems, bcause they rarely affect the fatigue behavior or structural
safety, the change of the structural frequency is slow and small. Besides, in design stage, it is inevitable that there will
be some uncertainty in predicting the natural frequency of the pedestrian bridge. It is shown that even with the
development of a detailed finite element model, deviations up to 10% in terms of natural frequency can be expected.[36]
Therefore, the ±20% frequency retuning region for the TMD is enough, and the tolerance of the retuning frequency ratio
may be considered to be 3%. From Table 2, it can be seen that the integer which flours the maximum of the acceleration
ratio maybe a good choice. For low ζs like ζs = 0.04, the value in the range (10.0, 12.0) can be chosen. As for high ζs like
ζs = 0.08, it would be better to choose the value larger than 6.0.
The dm should not be too large to beyond the convergent retuning frequency ratio region. For example, the
frequency ratio range (0.99, 1.01) is a narrow one. As the structure frequency is 1.91 Hz in the test, then the TMD
frequency is in the range of (1.89 Hz, 1.93 Hz). The stiffness of the TMD is 3160 N/m, therefore, the mass of the TMD is
in the range of (21.49 kg, 22.41 kg). In this case, the dm should be smaller than 0.92 kg. The dm is set to be 0.1 kg in the
test, which is a reasonable value.
12 of 16 SHI ET AL.

As for numerical simulations of the TMD, the state‐space method in MATLAB/SIMULINK is used. The simulations
are presented corresponding to the experiments. Specifically, the retuning simulation of TMD and test model in Section
4.2 is corresponding to the retuning modal test of TMD and test model in Section 3.3. The free decay vibration simulation
of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD in Section 4.3 is performed to contrast with the free decay vibra-
tion modal test of the bridge model in Section 3.4. The walking excitation simulation of the bridge model with retuned
TMD/mistuned TMD in Section 4.4 is taken to contrast with the stepping excitation model test in Section 3.5. Running
and jumping excitation simulations of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD are introduced in Section 4.5
to make a better understanding of the performance of the proposed TMD under human‐induced vibrations.

4.2 | Retuning simulation of SAVM‐TMD and test model

In this section, the gap time is set to be 1.0 s and the dm is set to be 0.1 kg, which are the same as the model test. First of
all, the dynamic system is given a harmonic excitation at 1.91 Hz. The weight adjusting of the TMD mass is shown in
Figure 13.
In Figure 13, the mass adds 0.1 kg per second. Finally, it stops at 21.50 kg. Then the frequency of the TMD is 1.93 Hz,
being the same as measured in the model test.

4.3 | Free decay vibration simulation of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned
TMD
In this section, the dynamic system is given an initial displacement as the initial conditions, and the initial velocity and
acceleration are set to be zero. The fitting exponential function is used to identify the TMD's damping ratio, and the Hilbert
envelope value of the response time history is given to justify the precision of the fitting exponential function. The
simulation fitting exponential functions of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD are shown in Figure 14.
From Figure 14a, the primary system's equivalent damping ratio with retuned TMD is 2.0%, while the model test
result is 1.9%. From Figure 14b, the primary system's equivalent damping ratio with retuned TMD is 1.3%, and the model
test result is 1.2%. It can be concluded that the simulation results are fitted well with the model test, and the retuned
TMD can improve the equivalent damping ratio of the primary system comparing to the mistuned TMD.

4.4 | Walking excitation simulation of the bridge model with retuned TMD/mistuned
TMD
In this section, a 750 N person stepping on the middle of the bridge at 1.7, 1.9, and 2.1 Hz as the same situation as the
model test will be simulated. According to,[37] a vertical force is often modeled as a sum of a static and a dynamic com-
ponent as Equation 6.

 n

F ðtÞ ¼ G 1 þ ∑ Ai ⋅ sinð2i⋅π⋅f s ⋅t−φi Þ ; i ¼ 1; 2; …; n (6)
i¼1

FIGURE 13 The weight adjustment of the tuned mass damper mass

SHI ET AL. 13 of 16

FIGURE 14 The simulation fitting exponential function of the bridge model. (a) with retuned tuned mass damper and (b) with mistuned
tuned mass damper

where fs is the fundamental walking or running frequency, G is the body weight, Ai and φi are the amplitude and the
phase angle of the ith harmonic excitation, respectively. Table 3, adapted from,[38] shows the first three dynamic load
factors, Ai and φi for walking, running, and jumping, respectively in Equation 6.
The walking situation compared with the stepping test in the model test is simulated, and the comparisons of 1.9 Hz
stepping case between experimental and simulation results are displayed in Figure 15.
As can be seen from Figure 15, the simulation results agree well with the corresponding experimental results. Table 4
shows the detailed results of all the harmonic excitation simulations.

4.5 | Running and jumping excitation simulation of the bridge model with retuned TMD/
mistuned TMD
In this section, the structural response with retuned TMD/mistuned TMD through simulation, under the running
pedestrian excitation and the jumping pedestrian excitation from Equation 6 and Table 3, will be introduced. The results
are shown in Figure 16.

TABLE 3 Coefficients of the Fourier decomposition

A1 φ1(rad) A2 φ2(rad) A3 φ3(rad)

Walking 0.4 0 0.1 1.57 0.1 1.57

Running 1.6 0 0.7 0.00 0.2 0.00
Jumping 1.7 0 1.1 1.73 0.5 1.73

FIGURE 15 The comparison of 1.9 Hz stepping case between experimental and simulation results. (a) with retuned tuned mass damper
and (b) with mistuned tuned mass damper
14 of 16 SHI ET AL.

TABLE 4 The detailed results of the harmonic excitation simulations

Stepping frequency
The comparing conditions 1.7 Hz 1.9 Hz 2.1 Hz

Experimental peak acceleration (gal) Retuned TMD 15.6 68.7 23.7

Mistuned TMD 23.1 153.3 38.9
Simulation peak acceleration (gal) Retuned TMD 16.2 71.3 22.8
Mistuned TMD 23.8 149.7 39.3
Tolerance (%) Retuned TMD 3.7 3.6 3.8
Mistuned TMD 3.0 2.3 1.1

Note. TMD = tuned mass damper.

FIGURE 16 The comparison of structural response with retuned tuned mass damper/mistuned tuned mass damper. (a) under running
excitation and (b) under jumping excitation

As can be seen from Figure 16a, in the steady‐state, the maximum of structural response with mistuned TMD is
730 gal, and that with retuned TMD is 380 gal. The reduction of vibration response is 47.9%. In Figure 16b, in the
steady‐state, the maximum of the structural response with mistuned TMD is 740 gal, and that with retuned TMD is
360 gal. The reduction of vibration response is 51.4%. Consequently, under both pedestrian excitations, compared to
the mistuned TMD, the retuned TMD has better effect in controlling human‐induced vibrations.

5 | CONCLUSION

When there is a frequency deviation between the TMD and the pedestrian bridge, the TMD's controlling effect will
decrease sharply. This paper evaluates a new type of SAVM‐TMD, based on acceleration sensors, the microcontroller,
and the actuating devices. The water is used as the source of the variable mass for example in this paper. Under the
specific harmonic excitation, the microcontroller will dispose the two acceleration sensors' signals and control the
actuating devices to retune the mistuned TMD.
The control algorithm has been introduced in detail, and the parameters which may influence the convergence and
the precision of the control algorithm have been discussed. According to a series of model tests and numerical
simulations, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. The SAVM‐TMD can retune itself by its variable mass. The retuning is convergent if the parameters are chosen
according to presented suggestions. The precision of the retuning depends on the damping ratio of the TMD and
the acceleration ratio limit value. Therefore, these parameters are very important in the design.
2. According to the model test, compared to the mistuned TMD, the retuned TMD can improve the pedestrian bridge's
equivalent damping ratio, which can help to attenuate the vibration quickly. The retuned TMD can reduce
the pedestrian bridge's response under various human‐induced vibrations, and the vibration responses have
been evaluated by three indexes. All of them show that the retuned TMD works much more effectively than the
mistuned TMD.
SHI ET AL. 15 of 16

3. According to the numerical simulation, compared to the mistuned TMD, the retuned TMD can improve the pedes-
trian bridge's equivalent damping ratio and reduce the pedestrian bridge's response under various human‐induced
vibrations. The results are obtained from the experiment, and the simulations are fitted well.

The SAVM‐TMD does not need to be retuned in real time. After retuning, the SAVM‐TMD is a passive one. Therefore,
the SAVM‐TMD can improve the performance of TMD with little power consumption. The details of the SAVM‐TMD are
also very simple. Consequently, it would have a good prospect in the vibration control of pedestrian bridges.

A C K N O WL E D G E M E N T
Financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China through grant 51478361 are highly
appreciated.

ORCID
Zheng Lu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2803-1496

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How to cite this article: Shi W, Wang L, Lu Z. Study on self‐adjustable tuned mass damper with variable mass.
Struct Control Health Monit. 2017;e2114. https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2114