Performance‐based design with semi‐active structural control technique

The recent spate of large earthquakes has triggered diverse performance requirements for structures. This has led to increasing worldwide interest in performance‐based design methods. To establish such methods, however, it is necessary to evaluate structure conditions after defining the loads, and this is difficult to accomplish. On the other hand, there has been steady progress on research and development of structural control techniques for improving structural performance. These technological innovations need to be rationally incorporated into structural design. In particular, semi‐active structural control techniques are effective in improving structural performance during large earthquakes. By effectively incorporating them into the design, it is possible to meet the various structural performance requirements. This paper first outlines the various structural control methods and focuses on the semi‐active structural control technique as the main topic. It then describes an example to verify the effectiveness of the semi‐active structural control technique in high‐rise buildings. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于鲁棒线性二次算法的结构振动主动控制

线性二次控制算法在工程中得到了广泛的应用。本文提出了通过振型分解，赋予各阶振型不同权重，优化选择线性二次算法加权矩阵的方法，并采用回路传输恢复技术，设计了运用于土木工程结构主动减振的控制系统。仿真结果表明，本文方法能够有效地抑制高频噪声对输出控制力的影响。     

Forced vibration test of a building with semi‐active damper system

The authors developed a semi‐active hydraulic damper (SHD) and installed it in an actual building in 1998. This was the first application of a semi‐active structural control system that can control a building's response in a large earthquake by continuously changing the device's damping coefficient. A forced vibration test was carried out by an exciter with a maximum force of 100 kN to investigate the building's vibration characteristics and to determine the system's performance. As a result, the primary resonance frequency and the damping ratio of a building that the SHDs were not jointed to, decreased as the exciting force increased due to the influence of non‐linear members such as PC curtain walls. The equivalent damping ratio was estimated by approximating the resonance curves using the steady‐state response of the SDOF bilinear hysteretic system. After the eight SHDs were jointed to the building, the system's performance was identified by a response control test for steady‐state vibration. The elements that composed the semi‐active damper system demonstrated the specified performance and the whole system operated well. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Decentralized ℋ︁∞ controller design for large‐scale civil structures

Complexities inherent to large‐scale modern civil structures pose many challenges in the design of feedback structural control systems for dynamic response mitigation. With the emergence of low‐cost sensors and control devices creating technologies from which large‐scale structural control systems can deploy, a future control system may contain hundreds, or even thousands, of such devices. Key issues in such large‐scale structural control systems include reduced system reliability, increasing communication requirements, and longer latencies in the feedback loop. To effectively address these issues, decentralized control strategies provide promising solutions that allow control systems to operate at high nodal counts. This paper examines the feasibility of designing a decentralized controller that minimizes the ??_∞ norm of the closed‐loop system. ??_∞ control is a natural choice for decentralization because imposition of decentralized architectures is easy to achieve when posing the controller design using linear matrix inequalities. Decentralized control solutions are investigated for both continuous‐time and discrete‐time ??_∞ formulations. Numerical simulation results using a 3‐story and a 20‐story structure illustrate the feasibility of the different decentralized control strategies. The results also demonstrate that when realistic semi‐active control devices are used in combination with the decentralized ??_∞ control solution, better performance can be gained over the passive control cases. It is shown that decentralized control strategies may provide equivalent or better control performance, given that their centralized counterparts could suffer from longer sampling periods due to communication and computation constraints. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LQR control with frequency‐dependent scheduled gain for a semi‐active floor isolation system

Floor isolation is an alternative to base isolation for protecting a specific group of equipment installed on a single floor or room in a fixed‐base structure. The acceleration of the isolated floor should be mitigated to protect the equipment, and the displacement needs to be suppressed, especially under long‐period motions, to save more space for the floor to place equipment. To design floor isolation systems that reduce acceleration and displacement for both short‐period and long‐period motions, semi‐active control with a newly proposed method using the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control with frequency‐dependent scheduled gain (LQRSG) is adopted. The LQRSG method is developed to account for the frequency characteristics of the input motion. It updates the control gain calculated by the LQR control based on the relationship between the control gain and dominant frequency of the input motion. The dominant frequency is detected in real time using a window method. To verify the effectiveness of the LQRSG method, a series of shake table tests is performed for a semi‐active floor isolation system with rolling pendulum isolators and a magnetic‐rheological damper. The test results show that the LQRSG method is significantly more effective than the LQR control over a range of short‐period and long‐period motions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active interaction control of civil structures. Part 2: MDOF systems

In this paper, the performance of active interaction control (AIC) algorithms is assessed within the context of two realistic building models. The AIC control approach is proposed as a semi‐active means of mitigating the structural response during large earthquakes. To implement the AIC control algorithms into MDOF systems, the modal control (MC) approach that directs the control effort to certain dominant response modes is formulated and utilized herein. Two structures, a 3‐storey building and a 9‐storey steel‐framed benchmark building controlled by the AIC algorithms are analysed for two historical earthquake records. The results of numerical simulation verify the efficacy of the AIC control algorithms in controlling vibration of building structures during large earthquakes. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quadratic jerk regulation and the seismic control of civil structures

Regulation of the total structural jerk is a means of managing the structural energy and enhancing the performance of civil structures undergoing large seismic events. A quadratic regulator is derived for the total structural jerk that produces a single algebraic Riccati equation to define the control gains. The resulting control method is tested using a realistic non‐linear structural control case study where the structural response is statistically quantified for large suites of scaled earthquakes. The control method developed is shown to be more effective than typical displacement‐focused active and semi‐active civil structural control methods. In particular, quadratic jerk regulation provides better performance than typical structural control methods for near‐field seismic events where the response is dominated by a large impulse, and relatively poorer results for far‐field seismic inputs where the response is vibratory. Hence, this type of control approach has strong potential for mitigating the damage for large impulse, near‐field events, where jerk regulation provides much more efficient response and damage management. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a tunable friction pendulum system for semi‐active control of building structures under earthquake ground motions

The Friction Pendulum System (FPS) isolator is commonly used as a base isolation system in buildings. In this paper, a new tunable FPS (TFPS) isolator is proposed and developed to act as a semi‐active control system by combining the traditional FPS and semi‐active control concept. Theoretical analysis and physical tests were carried out to investigate the behavior of the proposed TFPS isolator. The experimental and theoretical results were in good agreement, both suggesting that the friction force of the TFPS isolator can be tuned to achieve seismic isolation of the structure. A series of numerical simulations of a base‐isolated structure equipped with the proposed TFPS isolator and subjected to earthquake ground motions were also conducted. In the analyses, the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) method was adopted to control the friction force of the proposed TFPS, and the applicability and effectiveness of the TFPS in controlling the structure's seismic responses were investigated. The simulation results showed that the TFPS can reduce the displacement of the isolation layer without significantly increasing the floor acceleration and inter‐story displacement of the superstructure, confirming that the TFPS can effectively control a base‐isolated structure under earthquake ground motions.     

Statistical performance analysis of seismic‐excited structures with active interaction control

This paper presents a statistical performance analysis of a semi‐active structural control system for suppressing the vibration response of building structures during strong seismic events. The proposed semi‐active mass damper device consists of a high‐frequency mass damper with large stiffness, and an actively controlled interaction element that connects the mass damper to the structure. Through actively modulating the operating states of the interaction elements according to pre‐specified control logic, vibrational energy in the structure is dissipated in the mass damper device and the vibration of the structure is thus suppressed. The control logic, categorized under active interaction control, is defined directly in physical space by minimizing the inter‐storey drift of the structure to the maximum extent. This semi‐active structural control approach has been shown to be effective in reducing the vibration response of building structures due to specific earthquake ground motions. To further evaluate the control performance, a Monte Carlo simulation of the seismic response of a three‐storey steel‐framed building model equipped with the proposed semi‐active mass damper device is performed based on a large ensemble of artificially generated earthquake ground motions. A procedure for generating code‐compatible artificial earthquake accelerograms is also briefly described. The results obtained clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed semi‐active mass damper device in controlling vibrations of building structures during large earthquakes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active interaction control of civil structures. Part 1: SDOF systems

This paper presents a family of semi‐active control algorithms termed as active interaction control (AIC) used for seismic response control of civil structures. AIC control algorithms include active interface damping (AID), optimal connection strategy (OCS) and tuned interaction damping (TID). A typical SDOF AIC system consists of a primary structure, an auxiliary structure and an interaction element. The auxiliary structure typically has stiffness comparable to that of the primary structure while its natural frequency is much higher than that of the primary structure. Interactions between the primary and the auxiliary structures are defined by specific AIC control logic such that vibrational energy is extracted from the primary structure into the auxiliary structure during a locking phase and dissipated in the auxiliary structure in the subsequent unlocking phase. The stability of AIC control algorithms is shown using the Lyapunov direct method. The efficacy of AIC control algorithms is demonstrated by the results of numerical simulations of SDOF systems subjected to seismic ground motions. Practical issues such as sampling period and time delay are also investigated in this study. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictive control of seismic structures with semi‐active friction dampers

In this paper a predictive control method especially suitable for the control of semi‐active friction dampers is proposed. By keeping the adjustable slip force of a semi‐active friction damper slightly lower than the critical friction force, the method allows the damper to remain in its slip state throughout an earthquake of arbitrary intensity, so the energy dissipation capacity of the damper can be improved. The proposed method is formulated in a discrete‐time domain and cast in the form of direct output feedback for easy control implementation. The control algorithm is able to produce a continuous and smooth slip force for a friction damper and thus avoid exerting the high‐frequency structural response that usually exists in structures with conventional friction dampers. Using a numerical study, the control performance of a multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) structural system equipped with passive friction dampers and semi‐active dampers controlled by the proposed method are compared. The numerical case shows that by merely using a single semi‐active friction damper and a few sensors, the proposed method is able to achieve better acceleration reduction than the case using multiple passive dampers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Centralized semi‐active control of post‐tensioned steel frames

Centralized semi‐active control is a technique for controlling the whole structure using one main computer. Centralized control systems introduce better control for relatively short to medium high structures where the response of any story cannot be separated from the adjacent ones. In this paper, two centralized control approaches are proposed for controlling the seismic response of post‐tensioned (PT) steel frames. The first approach, the stiffness control approach, aims to alter the stiffness of the PT frame so that it avoids large dynamic amplifications due to earthquake excitations. The second approach, deformation regulation control approach, aims at redistributing the demand/strength ratio in order to provide a more uniform distribution of deformations over the height of the structure. The two control approaches were assessed through simulations of the earthquake response of semi‐actively and passively controlled six‐story post‐tensioned steel frames. The results showed that the stiffness control approach is efficient in reducing the frame deformations and internal forces. The deformation regulation control approach was found to be efficient in reducing the frame displacements and generating a more uniform distribution of the inter‐story drifts. These results indicate that centralized semi‐active control can be used to improve the seismic performance of post‐tensioned steel frames. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of semi‐active tuned mass dampers to base‐excited systems

A continuously variable semi‐active damper is used in a tuned mass damper (TMD) to reduce the level of vibration of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom system subjected to harmonic base excitations. The ground hook dampers as have been used in the auto‐industry are being studied here. Using these dampers a new class of tuned mass dampers, named as ground hook tuned mass dampers (GHTMD) is being introduced. In order to generalize the design properties of the GHTMDs, they are defined in terms of non‐dimensional parameters. The optimum design parameters of GHTMDs for lightly damped systems are obtained based on the minimization of the steady‐state displacement response of the main mass. These parameters are computed for different mass ratios and main system damping ratios. Frequency responses of the resulting systems are compared to that of equivalent TMDs using passive dampers. In addition, other characteristics of this system as compared to the passive TMDs are discussed. A design guide to obtain the optimum parameters of GHTMD using the developed diagrams in this paper based on non‐dimensional values is presented. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LMS‐based structural health monitoring of a non‐linear rocking structure

A structure's health or level of damage can be monitored by identifying changes in structural or modal parameters. This research directly identifies changes in structural stiffness due to modelling error or damage for a post‐tensioned pre‐cast reinforced concrete frame building with rocking beam column connections and added damping and stiffness (ADAS) elements. A structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on adaptive least mean squares (LMS) filtering theory is presented that identifies changes from a simple baseline model of the structure. This method is able to track changes in the stiffness matrix, identifying when the building is (1) rocking, (2) moving in a hybrid rocking–elastic regime, or (3) responding linearly. Results are compared for two different LMS‐based SHM methods using an L ₂ error norm metric. In addition, two baseline models of the structure, one using tangential stiffness and the second a more accurate bi‐linear stiffness model, are employed. The impact of baseline model complexity is then delineated. The LMS‐based methods are able to track the non‐linearity of the system to within 15% using this metric, with the error due primarily to filter convergence rates as the structural response changes regimes while undergoing the El Centro ground motion record. The use of a bi‐linear baseline model for the SHM problem is shown to result in error metrics that are at least 50% lower than those for the tangential baseline model. Errors of 5–15% with this L ₂ error norm are fairly stringent compared to the greater than 2 × changes in stiffness undergone by the structure, however, in practice the usefulness of the results is dependent on the resolution required by the user. The impact of sampling rate is shown to be negligible over the range of 200–1000Hz, along with the choice of LMS‐based SHM method. The choice of baseline model and its level of knowledge about the actual structure is seen to be the dominant factor in achieving good results. The methods presented require 2.8–14.0 Mcycles of computation and therefore could easily be implemented in real time. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On‐line identification of non‐linear hysteretic structural systems using a variable trace approach

In this paper, an adaptive on‐line parametric identification algorithm based on the variable trace approach is presented for the identification of non‐linear hysteretic structures. At each time step, this recursive least‐square‐based algorithm upgrades the diagonal elements of the adaptation gain matrix by comparing the values of estimated parameters between two consecutive time steps. Such an approach will enforce a smooth convergence of the parameter values, a fast tracking of the parameter changes and will remain adaptive as time progresses. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm is shown by considering the effects of excitation amplitude, of the measurement units, of larger sampling time interval and of measurement noise. The cases of exact‐, under‐, over‐parameterization of the structural model have been analysed. The proposed algorithm is also quite effective in identifying time‐varying structural parameters to simulate cumulative damage in structural systems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of a semi‐active stiffness damper under various earthquake inputs

Semi‐active stiffness damper (SASD) is one of many semi‐active control systems with the capability to mitigate the dynamic response using only a small amount of external power. The system consists of a hydraulic damper connected to the bracing frame in a selected story unit. In this paper, study of a SASD in two building models of five‐stories under four benchmark earthquake records is reported. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the control system against structure type and varying earthquake inputs. Various control laws are chosen to work with SASD, such as: resetting control, switching control, linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and modified LQR, and the results are compared with no control and passive control cases. Numerical results show that the use of a SASD is effective in reducing seismic responses. Control effectiveness is dependent on the type of structure and earthquake excitation. Passive control is less effective than other control cases as expected. Resetting control, switching control and LQR generally perform similarly in response reduction. While modified LQR is more efficient and robust compared with other control algorithms. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified sliding‐mode bang–bang control for seismically excited linear structures

Recently, sliding‐mode control (SMC) methods have been investigated for application to seismically excited civil engineering structures and have proved to be effective control strategic methods. On the other hand, although another class of well‐known optimal control laws, the so‐called ‘bang–bang’ control, has been investigated for several decades, their potential in civil engineering structural control has not been fully exploited. The purpose of this paper is to present a new control law for civil engineering structures, which is the sliding‐mode bang–bang control (SMBBC). The SMBBC method is a combination of the SMC and the bang–bang control. In consideration of actuators not suitable for high‐speed switching of control forces in the SMBBC in practice, modified sliding‐mode bang–bang control (MSMBBC) law is proposed and demonstrated to be able to provide the same control effects as the SMBBC case. Condition modified sliding‐mode bang–bang control (CMSMBBC) law is also investigated in this paper. In the CMSMBBC case, actuators act only when response quantities exceed some designated threshold values. The determination method of maximum control‐forces for actuators is investigated through example computation. The performance and robustness of the proposed control methods are all demonstrated by numerical simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that the presented methods are viable and an attractive control strategy for application to seismically excited linear structures. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large‐scale real‐time hybrid simulation of a three‐story steel frame building with magneto‐rheological dampers

A series of large‐scale real‐time hybrid simulations (RTHSs) are conducted on a 0.6‐scale 3‐story steel frame building with magneto‐rheological (MR) dampers. The lateral force resisting system of the prototype building for the study consists of moment resisting frames and damped brace frames (DBFs). The experimental substructure for the RTHS is the DBF with the MR dampers, whereas the remaining structural components of the building including the moment resisting frame and gravity frames are modeled via a nonlinear analytical substructure. Performing RTHS with an experimental substructure that consists of the complete DBF enables the effects of member and connection component deformations on system and damper performance to be accurately accounted for. Data from these tests enable numerical simulation models to be calibrated, provide an understanding and validation of the in‐situ performance of MR dampers, and a means of experimentally validating performance‐based seismic design procedures for real structures. The details of the RTHS procedure are given, including the test setup, the integration algorithm, and actuator control. The results from a series of RTHS are presented that includes actuator control, damper behavior, and the structural response for different MR control laws. The use of the MR dampers is experimentally demonstrated to reduce the response of the structure to strong ground motions. Comparisons of the RTHS results are made with numerical simulations. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that RTHS can be conducted on realistic structural systems with dampers to enable advancements in resilient earthquake resistant design to be achieved. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non‐linear viscoelastic modelling of earthquake‐induced structural pounding

Past severe earthquakes indicate that structural pounding may cause considerable damage or even lead to collapse of colliding structures if the separation distance between them is not sufficient. Because of its complexity, modelling of impact is an extremely difficult task, however, the precise numerical model of pounding is essential if an accurate structural response is to be simulated. The aim of this paper is to analyse a non‐linear viscoelastic model of collisions which allows more precise simulation of the structural pounding during earthquakes. The effectiveness of the model is verified by comparing the results of numerical analyses with the results of experiments conducted on pounding between different types of structures. The results of the study indicate that, compared to other models, the proposed non‐linear viscoelastic model is the most precise one in simulating the pounding‐involved structural response. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental verification of a wireless sensing and control system for structural control using MR dampers

The performance aspects of a wireless ‘active’ sensor, including the reliability of the wireless communication channel for real‐time data delivery and its application to feedback structural control, are explored in this study. First, the control of magnetorheological (MR) dampers using wireless sensors is examined. Second, the application of the MR‐damper to actively control a half‐scale three‐storey steel building excited at its base by shaking table is studied using a wireless control system assembled from wireless active sensors. With an MR damper installed on each floor (three dampers total), structural responses during seismic excitation are measured by the system's wireless active sensors and wirelessly communicated to each other; upon receipt of response data, the wireless sensor interfaced to each MR damper calculates a desired control action using an LQG controller implemented in the wireless sensor's computational core. In this system, the wireless active sensor is responsible for the reception of response data, determination of optimal control forces, and the issuing of command signals to the MR damper. Various control solutions are formulated in this study and embedded in the wireless control system including centralized and decentralized control algorithms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.