Evaluation of effects of hysteretic damping of shape memory alloys on seismic performance of tuned mass damper

Tuned mass damper is a common tool in passive control, which is used in many structures. However, with all the proper features, its most important functional limitation is the weakness against broad band excitation. Various methods have been proposed to overcome this problem, among which using hysteretic damping of materials with nonlinear behavior is known effective. Among materials with nonlinear behavior, shape memory alloys have good features and large hysteresis loops. Hence, in this paper, using nonlinear stiffness and hysteretic damping of a shape memory alloy spring, linear stiffness and viscous damping of a common tuned mass damper are replaced. Then, the modified damper has been used to control responses of a single degree of freedom structure under harmonic loadings and the effect of the loading amplitude on the control of the structural responses was determined. Subsequently, the damper has been used to control seismic responses of single degree of freedom structures to compare its performance under broad band seismic loadings with the performance of conventional tuned mass dampers. Results of the analyses show that the characteristics of shape memory alloys can adequately control the impact of the loading amplitude on the performance of nonlinear mass dampers. Also, the presence of hysteretic damping can significantly improve control of seismic responses of single degree degrees of freedom structures compared to conventional tuned mass dampers, provided that dynamic properties of the nonlinear mass damper take their optimal values.