Vibration Control of Long-Span Beams: Experimental and Analytical Study of Beam Structures Incorporated with Connection Dampers

In order to reduce the vertical vibrations of long-span beam structures subjected to human activities or machinery running, a type of beam-column connection incorporated with viscoelastic dampers is designed and the effectiveness in vibration control is proved experimentally. An analytical method implemented with a fractional derivative model for structures with such damping devices is then proposed. By comparing analytical results with test data, the method is verified to be able to predict structural behaviors very well. Based on the parametric studies being carried out, useful guidelines are achieved for design of beam structures with connection dampers.