Suzana Moreira Avila, an associate professor at the University of Brasilia, specializes in structural dynamics and control, focusing on technologies to mitigate vibrations in structures caused by dynamic loads. Her research includes the implementation of tuned mass dampers and structural optimization for various applications, including gym floors and wind turbine towers. Future work aims to optimize parameters for vibration control and explore semi-active systems and seismic analysis.

1. Research Seminar
SUZANA MOREIRA AVILA
Associate Professor
University of Brasilia – Brazil
Rome, May 29th 2015

2. Resumé
• 1993 - Civil Engineer – University of Brasilia
• 1997 – Master in Structural Engineering – University of Brasilia
• 2002 – Doctor in Structural Engineering - Pontifical Catholic University
of Rio de Janeiro
• 2002-2008 – Associate researcher – University of Brasilia
• 2008 – now – Associate professor – University of Brasilia

3. Expertise
• Structural Dynamics
• Structural Control
• Structural Optimization
• Numerical Analysis and Computational Methods

4. Research Partner’s
Prof. Marcus Morais
Structural Dynamics
Computational Mechanics
Fluid structure Iteraction
Prof. Maura Shzu
Computational Mechanics
Structural Optimization

5. University of Brasilia
Darcy Ribeiro Campus

6. University of Brasilia
Gama Campus

7. Structural Control
• It is a technology to reduce excessive vibration in structures caused by
dynamic loadings such as wind and earthquakes.
• Although it was developed first in aerospace engineering, this
technology has fastly spread to Civil Engineering

8. Structural Control
• Structural control provide changes on stiffness and damping
properties of the system, installing external devices or applying
external forces, aiming to reduce original structure vibrations.
• It can be classified as passive, active, semi-active and hybrid.

9. Footbridge in Brasilia

10. A gym floor, that presented real excessive vibrations, located in
a commercial building situated in the city of Brasilia, Brazil

12. Tuned Mass Damper TMD
m
g(t)
k
c
K
C
M
f(t)

13. Dynamic testing platform
• Situated at the Structure Laboratory there is a testing platform with a
very low fundamental frequency and presenting excessive vibrations.

14. Dynamic testing platform
• Tuned mass damper.

15. Tuned mass damper to reduce floor vibration

16. Structural control of adjacent buildings

17. Numerical model of National Brasilia Stadium

18. Wind Turbines: model,
control and optimize

19. Wind turbine tower
The tower is about 20% of
the total cost!

20. Wind turbine tower dynamic analysis

21. Numerical modelling of the wind turbine
tower

22. Numerical modelling of the wind turbine
tower

23. Vibration control of the wind turbine tower
Kp,Cp
Fs(t)
Ks
Cs
Ms
Mp
(t)
L
y(t)
0,20
0,40
0,60
0,80
1,00
1,20
1,40
1,60
1,80
0,8 0,9 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5
a = wP / wS
RMS m=0, 06
m=0, 08
m=0, 10

24. Vibration control wind turbine

25. Floating Offshore Wind Turbine
Hywind, Norway

26. Offshore wind turbine model

27. Structural Control
Tunned Mass Damper Inverted Pendulum

28. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
Comparacao - Com AMS vs Sem AMS
Tempo [s]
AmplitudedeTheta[rad]
Sem AMS
Com AMS
Offshore wind turbine vibration control

29. Developing, Next steps, ideas, etc
• Optimization of tmd parameters
• Tower Optimization
• Blade effects
• Semi-active control
• Seismic analysis
• Vibration control of blades

30. Thanks for your attention!!