Performance evaluation of novel inerter-based vibrating barrier configurations

A vibrating barrier is a non-invasive approach for mitigating seismic effects on buildings. Recent developments have integrated inerter-based dampers, consisting of an inerter, a spring, and a dashpot arranged in various configurations, into vibrating barriers, leading to the concept of the inerter-based vibrating barrier (IViBa). Unlike conventional applications in which inerter-based dampers are embedded within the host structure where they modify the structural dynamic properties, their use as ground-installed barriers introduces a different interaction mechanism, altering wave propagation and soil–structure interaction, and consequently leading to distinct tuning and optimisation characteristics. This study addresses this gap through an investigation of IViBa configurations and their governing parameters. To date, only one IViBa configuration has been reported. This work introduces three alternative configurations derived from different arrangements of the inerter, spring, and dashpot. The influence of secondary mass and dashpot placement is examined, with performance optimised using H∞ and H2 criteria implemented via the Self-Adaptive Differential Evolution algorithm and the Kanai–Tajimi filter. The results show that the newly proposed IViBa configurations with parallel inerter–dashpot configuration achieve performance comparable to the existing IViBa while requiring approximately 96% lower damping. In the time-domain simulations, the proposed time-domain optimisation yields the best structural performance for the case considered, achieving about 27% reduction in both RMS and peak responses compared to the uncontrolled case. This is followed by the H∞ and H2 optimisation methods, which provide average response reductions of approximately 24% and 22%, respectively. These results define a clear design framework in which optimal inertance and configuration selection govern performance, enabling efficient and practically achievable IViBa solutions for seismic response mitigation.