A Glance at Optimal Configurations of Large Mass Tuned Mass Dampers in Soil-Structure Systems

The use of Tuned Mass Dampers featured by a Large Mass ratio (LM-TMDs) can represent an efficient solution for the seismic risk mitigation of structures, especially for seismic retrofitting of existing buildings in which a LM-TMD is conceived as a superelevation of the structural body. Although several studies in this field have dealt with optimization and technological developments, there is a lack of design criteria for LM-TMDs contemplating the influence of the soil-foundation interaction which can play a key role on the structural performance. Therefore, this study proposes a preliminary view to optimal configurations of LM-TMDs in soil-structure systems. To this end, a simplified interpretative model is used to carry out an extensive parametric analysis in the finite element framework OpenSees, considering a large variety of soil-structure layouts. Optimal solutions for the LM-TMD are identified, showing promising correlations between the non-dimensional quantities characterizing ...