Numerical Analysis of the Dynamic Responses of Multistory Structures Equipped with Tuned Liquid Dampers Considering Fluid-Structure Interactions

A tuned liquid damper (TLD) is a remarkable damping device that can be used for almost any type of structure. In the previous research on TLDs, the effect of the liquid pressure acting on the tank walls was ignored by assuming rigid tank walls, thereby neglecting the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomenon. However, this could lead to errors in designing TLDs and the failure of the water tanks serving as TLDs.

For this reason, this paper studies the influence of the tank wall’s flexibility on the effectiveness of a TLD.

Ansys V.11 was employed to analyze high-rise buildings under harmonic and seismic loadings with and without a TLD.

The results show that a TLD is very useful in mitigating the vibration response of a 14-story building subjected to dynamic loading. Furthermore, an 8-story building was analyzed with and without a TLD considering the flexibility of the tank wall. The dynamic response of the 8-story building subjected to harmonic loading with a rigid TLD remarkably reduced; in contrast, the flexible TLD did not prove to be as efficient as the rigid TLD.

This study contributes to the literature by considering the FSI in the design of a roof water tank as a TLD. Moreover, the authors proposed a tank flexibility parameter to distinguish between rigid and flexible tanks that could help engineers more accurately and quickly design water tank TLDs.