Experimental study of controllable MR-TLCD applied to the mitigation of structure vibration

MR-TLCD (Magneto-Rheological Tuned Liquid Column Damper) is a new developed vibration control device, which combines the traditional passive control property with active controllability advantage. Based on traditional TLCD governing equation, this study further considers MR-fluid viscosity in the equation and by transforming the non-linear damping term into an equivalent linear damping, a solution can be obtained. In order to find a countable set of parameters for the design of the MR-TLCD system and also to realize its applicability to structures, a series of experimental test were designed and carried out. The testing programs include the basic material properties of the MR-fluid, the damping ratio of a MR-TLCD and the dynamic responses for a frame structure equipped with the MR-TLCD system subjected to strong ground excitations. In both the analytical and experimental results of this study, it is found that the accurately tuned MR-TLCD system could effectively reduce the dynamic response of a structural system.