Optimized hysteric TMD for seismic control of a nonlinear steel structure

The nonlinear dynamic response of a scale steel structure equipped with a hysteretic tuned mass damper (TMD) is investigated. Identification of the parameters of a nonlinear model of the structure is carried out via experimental tests while the optimal parameters of the TMD are obtained by using a differential evolution algorithm. Such optimization algorithm can search the best solution in a large parameter space without making restrictive assumptions on the optimization problem. The seismic performance of the optimized hysteretic TMD mounted on a nonlinear structure is compared with that of a more conventional, linear tuned mass damper.