Comcast Center - Tuned Liquid Column Damper

Comcast Center - Tuned Liquid Column Damper

In 2006, D’Huy was part of the design team to construct a precast concrete damper for the new Comcast Center in Philadelphia. The purpose of a Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) is to meet the acceleration limit for human comfort in the sway of tall, slender structures. The U-shaped column damper was sized to allow the liquid inside to oscillate freely at a frequency to match the building’s natural frequency. The damping is created by the turbulence in the liquid as it moves thru grates between the damper columns.

The original construction of the damper was to be cast in place concrete, but given the time of year when the structure needed to be built, the Engineer of Record decided to consider the feasibility of utilizing pre-cast concrete. Teaming up with a local pre-cast concrete manufacturer, D’Huy determined the structure could be built using a panelized system connected with steel plates and Dywidag anchorage systems cast into the panels. In addition to designing for the dynamic forces, the damper tank structure was also designed to support some of the building loads as well as three large cooling towers above.

Given the complexity of the design, D’Huy created a finite element model consisting of over 10,000 plate elements. The model reflected the actual construction of the panelized system along with every joint between each panel. The size of the damper tank was approximately 68 feet wide by 56 feet long and 20 feet high with a total self weight around 900 tons. The Comcast Center in Philadelphia is now the tallest building in the world with a Tuned Liquid Column Damper.

 

Client

Modern Precast Concrete

210 Durham Road

Ottsville, PA 18942

 

Location

1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Project Description

New Construction: 1.4 million sq. ft.

Project Dates

Start: 2006

Completion: 2007

Costs

Tuned Liquid Column Damper Budget Cost: $2,000,000

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