Response control of multi-storied adjacent buildings using double-compliant liquid dampers-inerter subjected to seismic excitations

Pounding between adjacent, closely spaced buildings was frequently observed in previous major seismic events. This paper proposes a novel double-compliant liquid dampers-inerter (DCLDI) system to mitigate the potential pounding and response of adjacent multi-storied buildings under seismic excitations. Specifically, three configurations of DCLDI are investigated. In Configuration 1, two compliant liquid dampers (CLDs) are linked by the inerter; in Configuration 2, one end of the inerter is connected to the roof of Building 1, while the other end is connected to the CLD, placed at the roof of Building 2; in Configuration 3, one end of the inerter is connected to the CLD, placed at the roof of Building 1, while the other end is connected to the roof of Building 2. Two example benchmark buildings, 4-story and 5-story are taken up for numerical demonstration. The mathematical modelling of the adjacent buildings is done with the shear building multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) approximation. The control effectiveness of the proposed damper configurations is investigated in both time and frequency domains. Five parameters of DCLDI are optimized using a single-objective optimization solver, ‘ ga ’ in MATLAB. The ratio of the relative total energy of the controlled and uncontrolled buildings is chosen as an objective function, while white noise is considered as seismic input. For time domain analysis, 40 recorded seismic ground motions, 20 far-fault, and 20 near-fault are chosen. It is noticed that the optimum DCLDI achieves a maximum reduction in peak acceleration up to 25.3 % for Building 1 and 22.5 % for Building 2, respectively. While DCLDI fails to significantly reduce the maximum inter-story drift ratios and peak displacements, especially in Building 1, under individual earthquakes, the average percentage reductions of the peak responses are modest. • A novel double-compliant liquid damper-inerter (DCLDI) system is proposed. • Optimization using the Genetic algorithm under White Gaussian Noise excitation. • Frequency domain analysis for different soil conditions under Kanai-Tajimi spectrum. • Time domain analysis under 40 recorded seismic ground motions. • Optimally designed DCLDI efficiently controls structural responses of adjacent buildings.