Zixiao Wang

• PhD, CEng, MIMechE
• Senior Research Associate in Dynamics & Control at University of Bristol

An innovative structural modification, top-storey softening, is herein proposed in conjunction with optimally tuned top-floor tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) for improved serviceability performance in typical core-frame slender buildings with rectangular floor plan susceptible to wind-induced vortex shedding (VS) effects causing occupant discomfor...

The increasing rate of urbanization in recent decades has resulted in a global surge in the construction of slender high-rise buildings. These structures are prone to excessive wind-induced lateral vibrations in the crosswind direction owing to vortex shedding effects, causing occupant discomfort and, ultimately, dynamic serviceability failure. To...

In recent decades, the shortage of affordable housing has become an endemic issue in many cities worldwide due to the ongoing urban population growth. Against this backdrop, volumetric steel modular building systems (MBSs) are becoming an increasingly compelling solution to the above challenge owing to their rapid construction speed and reduced upf...

Irwin surface wind sensor is widely used in the wind tunnel testing for the studies of urban and environmental aerodynamics. However, conventional physics-based calibration of this sensor leads to decreased measurement accuracy in regions with low flow velocities and high turbulence intensity. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel phys...

Passive vibration absorbers (PVAs) play a crucial role in mitigating excessive vibrations in engineering structures. Traditional PVA design typically begins with proposing a beneficial topological layout, incorporating stiffness, damping, and inertance elements, followed by optimal sizing of each element to minimise specific response of dynamically...

This paper examines the vibration response of the steel-concrete composite Ultra Shallow Floor Beam (USFB ® ) flooring system which incorporates asymmetric steel perforated beams to accommodate the concrete floor slab within the depth of the flanges while allowing reinforcement and/or service ducts to pass through the web openings. This is a lightw...

In recent years, the tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) has been demonstrated in several theoretical studies to be an effective vibration absorber for the seismic protection of non-isolated buildings. Its effectiveness relies on careful tuning of the TMDI stiffness and damping properties, while its performance improves with the increase of the inerta...

In recent years, the potential of various lightweight inerter-based dynamic vibration absorbers, including tuned inerter dampers (TIDs), for improving the serviceability occupant comfort in wind-excited slender/tall buildings under aerodynamic vortex shedding (VS) effects has been demonstrated in the literature. This is achieved through efficient m...

In recent years, the passive tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) has been widely considered for mitigating crosswind floor accelerations causing occupant discomfort in tall slender buildings. Its effectiveness relies on careful design/tuning of the TMDI stiffness and damping properties which entails large number of floor acceleration evaluations for w...

Recently, modular building construction and prefabrication have gained massive momentum as they continue to help many cities around the globe to tackle the ongoing housing crisis and pressing demands for healthcare facilities. As a relatively new structural solution, there is a need to study modular buildings’ optimal design. In this regard, previo...

The tuned mass-damper-inerter (TMDI) is a linear passive dynamic vibration absorber widely considered in the literature to mitigate the motion of dynamically excited primary structures. Previous studies focused on optimal TMDI tuning approaches and connectivity arrangements to improve motion control efficiency for some given primary structure. This...

A local structural modification, namely top-storey softening, is herein considered in conjunction with optimally tuned top-floor tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) for improved serviceability performance in mid-to-high rise buildings (host structures). The focus is to reduce floor accelerations on typical core-frame host structures with rectangular f...

The tuned mass‐damper‐inerter (TMDI) is a linear passive dynamic vibration absorber for motion control of dynamically excited building (primary) structures. It couples the classical tuned mass damper (TMD), comprising a secondary mass attached to the top building floor via a spring and dashpot, with an inerter, a mechanical element resisting relati...

The tuned mass-damper-inerter (TMDI) couples the classical tuned mass-damper (TMD), with an inerter device developing a resisting force proportional to the relative acceleration of its ends by the "inertance" constant. Previous works demonstrated that the inclusion of the TMDI leads to more efficient broadband vibration control for a range of diffe...

This paper investigates numerically the potential of ground floor linear tuned inerter damper (TID) to mitigate floor acceleration causing occupants' discomfort in wind-excited multi-storey buildings due to vortex shedding (VS) effects while generating electric energy. To this aim, TID stiffness and damping properties were optimally designed to min...

This paper investigates the potential of tuned mass dampers (TMDs) coupled with inerter devices in different tuned mass dampers inerter (TMDI) topologies to dissipate oscillations in tall buildings due to vortex shedding in the across wind direction while generating electric energy. The TMDI is first optimized for minimizing peak accelerations for...