EFFECTIVENESS OF TUNED LIQUID COLUMN DAMPERS FOR VIBRATION CONTROL OF TOWERS

The effectiveness of tuned liquid column dampers (TLCD) in controlling the wind-induced vibration of towers is studied. The nonlinear governing equation of the TLCD is linearized to obtain the stochastic response of the towers due to along-wind turbulence. Through parametric studies, the optimum parameters for maximum reduction in acceleration and displacement are presented for a wide range of towers. It is found that for any tower of practical interest, almost the same amount of reduction in acceleration can be obtained by choosing an appropriate opening ratio of the orifice in the TLCD. The same opening ratio would give almost the maximum reduction in displacement. Generally, the opening ratio needs to be varied between 0.5 and 1.0, with smaller opening ratios for shorter towers.