Abstract
In this paper, a new vibration control device called pendulum tuned mass damper (P.T.M.D) is proposed to reduce an ordinal house vibration. In recent years, three stories houses are built increasingly in the urban areas to obtain wide living space in a narrow land area. These houses are subjected to a problem caused by the traffic vibration, because a dominant frequency of the traffic vibration is coincident with the natural frequency of these houses. Although tuned mass dampers (T.M.D) are considered to solve the problem, it needs to prepare a large mass on the top floor of these houses in order to obtain effective vibration reduction. It seems to invite the dangerous situation under the large earthquakes. The proposed P.T.M.D acts on the principle of lever mechanism and can be placed between the first and second floor. In addition, it has an adjustable mechanism to adapt to various specifications of these houses. Effectiveness of the P.T.M.D is demonstrated experimentally by controlled results using frequency, time and seismic responses.
