Tuned Mass Damper


Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are narrowband vibration treatment devices commonly used for dampening the vibration of a structure at a particular resonant frequency. TMDs are variations of the more general tuned absorber/dampers commonly used in treating narrow-band noise and vibration issues.

The make-up of a tuned mass damper consists of an inertia element (a mass) and a suspension mechanism comprised of resilient and dissipative elements. The most commonly used suspension mechanism in TMDs is the parallel combination of coil springs and viscous dampers, but they can also be realized using other suspension mechanisms such as viscoelastic and air.
DEICON designs and fabricates tuned mass dampers for variety of applications.
DEIDON TMDs use different suspension mechanisms including, but not limited to, viscously damped coil spring, air, and viscoelastic, depending on the application.
Viscously Damped Coil Spring Suspended Tuned Mass Dampers (PDF)
Air Suspended Tuned Mass Dampers
Viscoelastic Tuned Mass Dampers(PDF)
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The schematic of a tuned mass damper (the red, 2nd order systems M2-K2-C2) appended to a vibrating structure (resembled by the black, 2nd order system M1-K1-C1) is shown in Figure 1.

Tuned dampers are sized so that a) their inertia/mass is large enough to ensure their effectiveness, b) their resilience in conjunction with their inertia/mass realizes the desired tuning frequency, and c) enough energy dissipation capability is built into them so that they effectively damp the vibration of their target modes.

TMDs are tuned by setting their natural frequencies substantially equal to the resonant frequencies of the structure targeted for damping.

Tuned Mass Damper+Structure
Figure 1 The schematic of a tuned mass damper installed on a structure

Contrary to broadband dampers which need to be attached to the vibrating structure at one end and anchored to a massive support at the other, tuned mass dampers need to be connected to the vibrating structure at one end only (no need to be anchored at the other end) and could be placed within the structure.


Floor Vibration Control | Tuned Absorbers/Dampers | Sound and Vibration Control | Viscous Dampers
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