Tuned mass dampers for structures with closely spaced natural frequencies

Analytical results are developed for vibration control of structures with one or more Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs). The input is a harmonic load with a range of possible frequencies. The control objective is to reduce the maximum amplitude of the structural response. Perturbation theory is used with three sets of small parameters: the ratio of TMD and structural modal masses, the damping of the system, and the differences between the structural and loading frequencies. It is shown analytically that for structures with widely spaced natural frequencies, the response can be approximated accurately by the response of the well‐known single‐mode structure/TMD system. For structures with p closely spaced natural frequencies, more general analytical results are developed to describe the coupling between the motions of the p modes of the structure and the multiple TMDs. The results show that at least p TMDs with properly placed attachments to the structure are necessary to control the response. If fewer TMDs are used, the maximum frequency response has a lower bound which is independent of the properties of the TMDs. The TMD placement is shown to be always important, regardless of the spacing of the structure's natural frequencies. The results are illustrated for both lumped‐mass and continuous structures.