Efficient distribution of tuned mass dampers for seismic control in regular and irregular multi-story steel buildings

Passive control systems, such as tuned mass dampers (TMDs), are widely used to reduce the lateral response of multi-story buildings (MSBs) without external power. This paper presents a numerical investigation of selected TMD distribution layouts in regular and irregular 12-story steel buildings under a limited set of scaled earthquake records. Although single-tuned mass damper (STMD) and multi-tuned mass damper (MTMD) systems have been widely studied, many previous investigations have focused mainly on tuning parameters, mass ratios, or simplified damper locations, with less attention to how an equivalent auxiliary mass should be spatially distributed to address coupled lateral-torsional response in asymmetric plans. Using ABAQUS/CAE for nonlinear time-history analysis, this study compares conventional STMDs with selected vertical, horizontal, and perimeter-based MTMD configurations. For the regular building, the horizontal four-corner MTMD layout was further examined through a detuning sensitivity analysis using frequency deviations of 0%, ± 2%, ± 4%, ± 6%, and ± 8%. Among the investigated detuning levels, the ± 4% case produced the lowest maximum top lateral displacement and inter-story relative displacement for the selected records. For irregular buildings (T, C, L, and stadium shapes), the study evaluates a dynamic-eccentricity-based MTMD placement strategy in which damper coordinates are selected based on CM-CR eccentricity and torsional lever arms. Under the selected scaled records, the perimeter-based MTMD arrangement reduced the maximum top-floor displacement by 18.3% - 52.3% and the maximum top-floor torsional rotation by 25.4%-68.0% across the investigated irregular configurations. The corresponding reductions in base shear and maximum top-floor acceleration ranged from 15.2% to 31.3% and from 12.2% to 34.7%, respectively. These findings are limited to the investigated structural models, selected damper configurations, engineering demand parameters, and scaled ground-motion records.