Effect of Soil Water Content Changes on the Behavior of Buildings Equipped With Single and Double Tuned Mass Dampers Subjected To Earthquakes

Abstract

Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are one of the structural control systems that have been frequently used in the last century. A TMD is designed according to the properties of the main system. In building applications, the substructure’s soil affects the response of buildings, especially in soft-type soils. Therefore, the soil properties should be included in the analysis and design of tuned mass dampers. However, the soil properties are not always identical and vary due to different factor changes such as soil water content changes. Unlike previous research, which typically assumes constant soil properties, this study incorporates the impact of soil water content changes, a key factor that can significantly alter soil behavior. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of optimized single and double tuned mass dampers (DTMDs) in response reduction of buildings considering the changes in the water content of soil. In this study, a metaheuristic-based optimization method is programmed to optimize TMDs and DTMDs for low-, mid-, and high-rise buildings considering soil-structure interaction (SSI). The efficiency of the optimized tuned mass dampers on the response reduction of buildings due to changes in soil water content is evaluated. According to the investigated results of 14 near-field earthquake simulations, it is concluded that the efficiency of the TMDs is significantly affected by changes in soil water content. Moreover, according to the result, the DTMD efficiency is slightly better than the TMD-controlled structure. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.