Semiactive control of rigid blocks under earthquake excitation

Abstract

Summary This paper investigates the usefulness of a semiactive control to reduce the overturning vulnerability of a rigid block on a rigid plane under earthquake excitation. The proposed feedback law is used to set the stiffness of restraints placed at the 2 lower corners of the block. The performance of the semiactive control is numerically validated by subjecting the block to 100 recorded accelerograms. Specific simulations are performed to study the effect of different anchorage design parameters on the utility of the control. Finally, the robustness of the proposed control is addressed with respect to typical issues of the real‐world implementation.

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

“…Semi‐active control systems have received great attention in the past few years because of their excellent adaptability and low power requirements. These systems will not destabilize the structure because they do not input the energy to the structural system directly …”

“…These systems will not destabilize the structure because they do not input the energy to the structural system directly. [25][26][27][28] Several researchers have studied the use of magnetorheological (MR) dampers and other semi-active devices in the base isolation system to reduce the isolation displacement without increasing the response in the superstructure. 29,30 Additional semi-active control devices have to be installed to attain a semi-active controlled base-isolated structure.…”