Optimization criteria of TMD to reduce vibrations generated by the wind in a slender structure

This paper deals with the reduction of vibrations caused by wind load in slender structures. The structure is modeled as a Single-Degree-of-Freedom system and the wind load is estimated through the pre-filter technique: the aerodynamic force is a function of White Noise filtered by a simple oscillator. Two optimization criteria to calculate the best values of the frequency and the damping ratio of the Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) are compared here. The aim of the first criterion is the reduction of the displacement of the top end of the structure, while the aim of the second criterion is the reduction of the inertial acceleration of the top end of the structure. The comparison of the two criteria is carried out through sensitivity analyses for different environmental conditions and system configurations. The comparison shows that the acceleration criterion is more attractive only for some conditions. Moreover, it is plain that the different efficiencies of the TMD optimized through each of two criteria are related to the mass ratio. Finally, the optimization criteria are applied to estimate the TMD design parameters to reduce the vibrations due to wind load in a lighting tower.