A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS, ENERGY DISSIPATION EFFICIENCY, AND VIBRATION REDUCTION STRATEGIES FOR TUNED MASS DAMPERS AND ACTIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS IN TALL AND FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes the existing body of research on the performance evaluation of tuned mass dampers and active control systems in structural dynamics, with a particular focus on tall and flexible structures. The background of this work is rooted in the increasing demand for effective vibration mitigation strategies in high-rise buildings and slender structures subjected to wind, seismic, and operational loads. The primary objectives of this review are to critically assess optimization algorithms applied to these control systems, to quantify energy dissipation efficiency metrics, and to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of various vibration reduction strategies across different structural configurations. To achieve these goals, we conducted a comprehensive literature search following the PRISMA guidelines, and we applied random-effects meta-analytic models to pool effect sizes from 47 eligible studies. The methodology involved extracting standardized mean differences and efficiency ratios, and we performed subgroup analyses based on control system type and optimization algorithm category. The results indicate that tuned mass dampers achieve a pooled mean vibration reduction of  (95% CI: –) under harmonic excitation, while active control systems yield a higher pooled mean reduction of  (95% CI: –), with the difference being statistically significant (). Furthermore, meta-regression revealed that evolutionary optimization algorithms were associated with an additional  improvement in energy dissipation efficiency compared to gradient-based methods. Consequently, we conclude that active control systems generally outperform passive tuned mass dampers in terms of vibration attenuation, though the selection of optimization algorithms critically mediates performance gains. These findings provide quantitative benchmarks for engineers and researchers involved in the design of structural control systems for flexible structures.