Seismic response control of smart sliding isolated buildings using variable stiffness systems: an experimental and numerical study

Effectiveness of a new semiactive independently variable stiffness (SAIVS) device in reducing seismic response of sliding base isolated buildings is evaluated analytically and experimentally. Through analytical and experimental study of force—displacement behaviour of the SAIVS device, it is shown that the device can vary stiffness continuously and smoothly between minimum and maximum stiffness. Passive sliding base isolation systems reduce interstorey drifts and superstructure accelerations, but with increased base displacements, which is undesirable, under large velocity near fault pulse type earthquakes. It is a common practice to incorporate non‐linear passive dampers into the isolation system to reduce bearing displacements. Incorporation of passive dampers, however, may result in increased superstructure accelerations and drifts; while, properly designed passive dampers can be beneficial. A viable alternative is to use semiactive variable stiffness systems, which can vary the period of the sliding base isolated buildings in real time, to simultaneously reduce bearing displacements and superstructure responses further than the passive systems, which deserves investigation. This study investigates the performance of a 1:5 scaled smart sliding base isolated building model equipped with the SAIVS device analytically and experimentally, under near fault earthquakes, by developing a new moving average non‐linear tangential stiffness control algorithm for control of the SAIVS device. The SAIVS device reduces bearing displacements further than the passive cases, while maintaining isolation level forces and superstructure responses at the same level as the passive minimum stiffness case, indicating the significant potential of the SAIVS system. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐active multi‐step predictive control of structures using MR dampers

A semi‐active multi‐step predictive control (SAMPC) system with magnetorheological (MR) dampers is developed to reduce the seismic responses of structures. This system can predict the next multi‐step responses of structure according to the current state and has a function of self‐compensation for time delay that occurred in real application. To study the performance of the proposed control algorithm for addressing time delay and reducing the seismic responses, a numerical example of an 11‐story structure with MR dampers is presented. Comparison with the uncontrolled structure indicates that both the peak and the norm values of structural responses are all clearly reduced when the predictive length l?10 and the delayed time step d?20 are selected, and the SAMPC strategy can guarantee the stability of the controlled structure and reduce the effects of time delay on controlled responses to a certain extent. A performance comparison is also made between the SAMPC strategy and the passive‐off and passive‐on methods; results indicate that this SAMPC system is more effective than the two passive methods in reducing structural responses subjected to earthquakes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐active neuro‐control for base‐isolation system using magnetorheological (MR) dampers

Vibration mitigation using smart, reliable and cost‐effective mechanisms that requires small activation power is the primary objective of this paper. A semi‐active controller‐based neural network for base‐isolation structure equipped with a magnetorheological (MR) damper is presented and evaluated. An inverse neural network model (INV‐MR) is constructed to replicate the inverse dynamics of the MR damper. Next, linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller is designed to produce the optimal control force. Thereafter, the LQG controller and the INV‐MR models are linked to control the structure. The coupled LQG and INV‐MR system was used to train a semi‐active neuro‐controller, designated as SA‐NC, which produces the necessary control voltage that actuates the MR damper. To evaluate the proposed method, the SA‐NC is compared to passive lead–rubber bearing isolation systems (LRBs). Results revealed that the SA‐NC was quite effective in seismic response reduction for wide range of motions from moderate to severe seismic events compared to the passive systems. In addition, the semi‐active MR damper enjoys many desirable features, such as its inherent stability, practicality and small power requirements. The effectiveness of the SA‐NC is illustrated and verified using simulated response of a six‐degree‐of‐freedom model of a base‐isolated building excited by several historical earthquake records. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐active fuzzy control for seismic response reduction using magnetorheological dampers

A semi‐active fuzzy control strategy for seismic response reduction using a magnetorheological (MR) damper is presented. When a control method based on fuzzy set theory for a structure with a MR damper is used for vibration reduction of a structure, it has an inherent robustness, and easiness to treat the uncertainties of input data from the ground motion and structural vibration sensors, and the ability to handle the non‐linear behavior of the structure because there is no longer the need for an exact mathematical model of the structure. For a clipped‐optimal control algorithm, the command voltage of a MR damper is set at either zero or the maximum level. However, a semi‐active fuzzy control system has benefit to produce the required voltage to be input to the damper so that a desirable damper force can be produced and thus decrease the control force to reduce the structural response. Moreover, the proposed control strategy is fail‐safe in that the bounded‐input, bounded‐output stability of the controlled structure is guaranteed. The results of the numerical simulations show that the proposed semi‐active control system consisting of a fuzzy controller and a MR damper can be beneficial in reducing seismic responses of structures. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Semi‐active piezoelectric friction damper

This research investigates the development of a semi‐active piezoelectric friction damper for controlling the seismic response of large‐scale structures. The proposed device is made of Duplex steel and leads to high friction capacity, which can be developed either in passive or semi‐active modes. For the later, piezoelectric actuators react against a stiff clamping system and apply a variable normal force on the multiple contact surfaces. To validate the design, a prototype, which contact surfaces were made of stainless steel and brake pad material, was built and tested in both friction modes. Moreover, an analytical model of the damper was developed to estimate the performance of the piezoelectric actuators within the clamping system. Experimental results showed that the proposed device achieves a force range factor of 1.9. These experimental results also compare well with those obtained from the analytical model of the damper. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response control of a complex structure using multiple MR dampers： experimental investigation

This paper presents an experimental investigation on semi-active seismic response control of a multistory building with a podium structure using multiple magnetorheological (MR) dampers manipulated by a logic control algorithm. The experiments are performed in three phases on a seismic simulator with a slender 12-story building model representing a multi-story building and a relatively stiff 3-story building model typifying a podium structure. The first phase of the investigation is to assess control performance of using three MR dampers to link the 3-story building to the 12-story building, in which seismic responses of the controlled two buildings are compared with those of the two buildings without any connection and with rigid connection. The second phase is to investigate reliability of the semi-active control system and robustness of the logic control algorithm when 2 out of 3 MR dampers fail and when the electricity supply to MR dampers is completely stopped. The last phase is to examine sensitivity of semi-active control performance of two buildings to change in ground excitation. The experimental results show that multiple MR dampers with the logic control algorithm can achieve a significant reduction in seismic responses of both buildings. The proposed semi-active control system is of high reliability and good robustness.     

Experimental and analytical study on pounding reduction of base‐isolated highway bridges using MR dampers

Pounding between adjacent superstructures has been a major cause of highway bridge damage in the past several earthquakes. This paper presents an experimental and analytical study on pounding reduction of highway bridges subjected to earthquake ground motions by using magnetorheological (MR) dampers. An analytical model, which incorporates structural pounding and MR dampers, is developed. A series of shaking table tests on a 1:20 scaled base‐isolated bridge model are performed to investigate the effects of pounding between adjacent superstructures on the dynamics of the structures. Based on the test results, the parameters of the linear and the nonlinear viscoelastic impact models are identified. Performance of the semiactive system for reducing structural pounding is also investigated experimentally, in which the MR dampers are used in conjunction with the proposed control strategy, to verify the effectiveness of the MR dampers. Structural responses are also simulated by using the established analytical model and compared with the shaking table test results. The results show that pounding between adjacent superstructures of the highway bridge significantly increases the structural acceleration responses. For the base‐isolated bridge model considered here, the semiactive control system with MR dampers effectively precludes pounding. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental performance evaluation of an equipment isolation using MR dampers

Critical non‐structural equipments, including life‐saving equipment in hospitals, circuit breakers, computers, high technology instrumentations, etc., are vulnerable to strong earthquakes, and the failure of these equipments may result in a heavy economic loss. In this connection, innovative control systems and strategies are needed for their seismic protections. This paper presents the performance evaluation of passive and semi‐active control in the equipment isolation system for earthquake protection. Through shaking table tests of a 3‐story steel frame with equipment on the first floor, a magnetorheological (MR)‐damper together with a sliding friction pendulum isolation system is placed between the equipment and floor to reduce the vibration of the equipment. Various control algorithms are used for this semi‐active control studies, including the decentralized sliding mode control (DSMC) and LQR control. The passive‐on and passive‐off control of MR damper is used as a reference for the discussion on the control effectiveness. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于加速度反馈的结构地震反应半主动MR阻尼控制试验

本文针对安装有半主动磁流变阻尼器（MR damper)的一座二层模型结构进行了抗震振动台试验研究，通过采用基于加速度反馈控制策略的两种半主动控制算法进行了在各种地震动作用下模型结构的半主动控制的抗震试验研究，并进行了Passive-on和Passive-off两种被动控制的试验研究。试验结果表明，MR阻尼器作为一种半主动控制装置可以有效地控制结构的峰值位移和均方差反应，且半主动控制对结构顶层的峰值位移和均方差的控制效果均优于两种被动控制方法。因此，本文提出的两种半主动控制算法都是有效的，并宜于实现。     

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.     

高架桥梁地震响应模糊半主动控制

提出了使用MR阻尼器（Magnetorheological Damper）作为控制设备，以模糊集为基础的半主动控制算法，研究了8种模糊控制规则在高架桥梁地震响应中的控制效果。本文提出的模糊方法的优势在于算法自身的鲁棒性、处理非线性问题的能力和不需要结构的精确数学模型，算法需要的输入变量少，模糊算法的输出直接控制MR阻尼器的输入电压，与LQR-clipped算法不同，MR阻尼器的输入电压可以是零与最大值之间的任意值。根据高架桥梁的结构特点，将典型的墩-支座-桥面结构简化为一个两自由度的线性系统，计算了El Centro地震激励下，MR模糊半主动控制的地震响应，并分别与没有控制及其他控制时的地震响应进行了对比，分析了各种控制算法的控制效果。研究结果表明，MR模糊半主动控制算法可以达到LQR-clipped半主动的控制效果，且模糊控制所需要的控制力较小，为有效地发挥MR阻尼器的功能提供了一种简单的半主动算法。     

Full‐scale experimental verification of resetable semi‐active stiffness dampers

Because of many advantages over other control systems, semi‐active control devices have received considerable attention for applications to civil infrastructures. A variety of different semi‐active control devices have been studied for applications to buildings and bridges subject to strong winds and earthquakes. Recently, a new semi‐active control device, referred to as the resetable semi‐active stiffness damper (RSASD), has been proposed and studied at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). It has been demonstrated by simulation results that such a RSASD is quite effective in protecting civil engineering structures against earthquakes, including detrimental near‐field earthquakes. In this paper, full‐scale hardware for RSASD is designed and manufactured using pressurized gas. Experimental tests on full‐scale RSASDs have been conducted to verify the hysteretic behaviours (energy dissipation characteristics) and the relation between the damper stiffness and the gas pressure. The correlation between the experimental results of the hysteresis loops of RASADs and that of the theoretical ones has been assessed qualitatively. Experimental results further show the linear relation between the gas pressure and the stiffness of the RSASD as theoretically predicted. Finally, shake table tests have also been conducted using an almost full‐scale 3‐storey steel frame model equipped with full‐scale RSASDs at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taipei, Taiwan, and the results are presented. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of RSASDs in reducing the responses of the large‐scale building model subject to several near‐field earthquakes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduction of structural response to near fault earthquakes by seismic isolation columns and variable friction dampers

<正>This paper focuses on the investigation of a hybrid seismic isolation system with passive variable friction dampers for protection of structures against near fault earthquakes.The seismic isolation can be implemented by replacing the conventional columns fixed to the foundations by seismic isolating ones.These columns allow horizontal displacement between the superstructure and the foundations and decouple the building from the damaging earthquake motion.As a result, the forces in the structural elements decrease and damage that may be caused to the building by the earthquake significantly decreases.However,this positive effect is achieved on account of displacements occurring in the isolating columns.These displacements become very large when the structure is subjected to a strong earthquake.In this case,impact may occur between the parts of the isolating column yielding their damage or collapse.In order to limit the displacements in the isolating columns,it is proposed to add variable friction dampers.A method for selecting the dampers' properties is proposed.It is carried out using an artificial ground motion record and optimal active control algorithm.Numerical simulation of a seven-story structure shows that the proposed method allows efficient reduction in structural response and limits the displacements at the seismic isolating columns.     

Experimental verification of torsional response control of asymmetric buildings using MR dampers

This paper proposes a semiactive control system to reduce the coupled lateral and torsional motions in asymmetric buildings subjected to horizontal seismic excitations. Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are applied as semiactive control devices and the control input determination is based on a clipped‐optimal control algorithm which uses absolute acceleration feedback. The performance of this method is studied experimentally using a 2‐story building model with an asymmetric stiffness distribution. An automated system identification methodology is implemented to develop a control‐oriented model which has the natural frequencies observed in the experimental system. The parameters for the MR damper model are identified using experimental data to develop an integrated model of the structure and MR dampers. To demonstrate the performance of this control system on the experimental structure, a shake table is used to reproduce an El Centro 1940 N–S earthquake as well as a random white noise excitation. The responses for the proposed control system are compared to those of passive control cases in which a constant voltage is applied to the MR damper. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Hybrid seismic protection of cable‐stayed bridges

This paper proposes a hybrid control strategy combining passive and semi‐active control systems for seismic protection of cable‐stayed bridges. The efficacy of this control strategy is verified by examining the ASCE first‐generation benchmark problem for a seismically excited cable‐stayed bridge, which employs a three‐dimensional linearized evaluation bridge model as a testbed structure. Herein, conventional lead–rubber bearings are introduced as base isolation devices, and semi‐active dampers (e.g., variable orifice damper, controllable fluid damper, etc.) are considered as supplemental damping devices. For the semi‐active dampers, a clipped‐optimal control algorithm, shown to perform well in previous studies involving controllable dampers, is considered. Because the semi‐active damper is a controllable energy‐dissipation device that cannot add mechanical energy to the structural system, the proposed hybrid control strategy is fail‐safe in that the bounded‐input, bounded‐output stability of the controlled structure is guaranteed. Numerical simulation results show that the performance of the proposed hybrid control strategy is quite effective in protecting seismically excited cable‐stayed bridges. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of hysteretic dampers with optimal ductility for the transverse seismic control of cable‐stayed bridges

Cable‐stayed bridges require a careful consideration of the lateral force exerted by the deck on the towers under strong earthquakes. This work explores the seismic response of cable‐stayed bridges with yielding metallic dampers composed of triangular plates that connect the deck with the supports in the transverse direction. A design method based on an equivalent single‐degree of freedom approximation is proposed. This is proved valid for conventional cable‐stayed bridges with 200‐ and 400‐m main spans, but not 600 m. The height of the plates is chosen to (1) achieve a yielding capacity that limits the maximum force transmitted from the deck to the towers, and to (2) control the hysteretic energy that the dampers dissipate by defining their design ductility. In order to select the optimal ductility and the damper configuration, a multi‐objective response factor that accounts for the energy dissipation, peak damper displacement and low‐cycle fatigue is introduced. The design method is applied to cable‐stayed bridges with different spans and deck–support connections. The results show that the dissipation by plastic deformation in the dampers prevents significant damage in the towers of the short‐to‐medium‐span bridges under the extreme seismic actions. However, the transverse response of the towers in the bridge with a 600‐m main span is less sensitive to the dampers. Copyright © 2017 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.     

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.     

Seismic performance of highway bridges with fusing bearing components for quasi‐isolation

Modern highway bridges in Illinois are often installed with economical elastomeric bearings that allow for thermal movement of the superstructure, and steel fixed bearings and transverse retainers that prevent excessive movement from service‐level loadings. In the event of an earthquake, the bearing system has the potential to provide a quasi‐isolated response where failure of sacrificial elements and sliding of the bearings can cause a period elongation and reduce or cap the force demands on the substructure. A computational model that has been calibrated for the expected nonlinear behaviors is used to carry out a parametric study to evaluate quasi‐isolated bridge behavior. The study investigates different superstructure types, substructure types, substructure heights, foundation types, and elastomeric bearing types. Overall, only a few bridge variants were noted to unseat for design‐level seismic input in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, indicating that most structures in Illinois would not experience severe damage during their typical design life. However, Type II bearing systems, which consist of an elastomeric bearing and a flat PTFE slider, would in some cases result in critical damage from unseating at moderate and high seismic input. The sequence of damage for many bridge cases indicates yielding of piers at low‐level seismic input. This is caused by the high strength of the fixed bearing element, which justifies further calibration of the quasi‐isolation design approach. Finally, the type of ground motion, pier height, and bearing type were noted to have significant influence on the global bridge response. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.