An Innovative Semiactive Rolling Tuned Mass Damper for Structural Vibration Mitigation

This study introduces a novel semiactive rolling tuned mass damper (SARTMD) developed to mitigate structural vibrations more efficiently than conventional tuned mass dampers (TMDs), with a primary objective of significantly reducing absorber mass without compromising performance. The proposed device combines translational and rotational motions, featuring two key innovations: (i) an umbrella-like mechanism that dynamically adjusts the moment of inertia by varying the radius of a secondary mass, allowing real-time frequency tuning, and (ii) a planetary gearbox that transmits the rotation of a primary rolling mass to the secondary mass, increasing its angular velocity. This configuration enables substantial mass ratio reduction while maintaining high control effectiveness. A numerical model of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure subjected to harmonic excitation from rotating machinery is developed to evaluate the system’s performance. A short-time Fourier transform (STFT)-based control algorithm is implemented to continuously match the SARTMD’s natural frequency with the dominant excitation frequency. Parametric studies are conducted to identify optimal ranges for the system’s parameters. Simulation results show that, compared to an uncontrolled system, the SARTMD reduces the peak displacement, velocity, and acceleration by 76.4%, 77.4%, and 77.9%, respectively, and lowers RMS responses by over 91%. Compared to a traditional TMD, it achieves 66% greater peak displacement reduction while using only 30% of the mass. Robustness analysis confirms that the system maintains effective performance under up to 30% frequency detuning. These results confirm that the SARTMD offers a lightweight, adaptive, and highly efficient alternative for structural vibration mitigation in applications with space or weight constraints.