Active control of building structures using piezoelectric actuators

Active control strategy is an innovative method for enhancing structural functionality against strong ground motions. In this paper the performance of piezoelectric actuators for active control of the seismic responses of tall buildings is investigated. Three-dimensional modeling of the building is considered where three degrees of freedom including displacements in two perpendicular horizontal directions and rotation about the vertical axis are corresponded to each floor. The piezoelectric actuators are hosted at the bottom of the columns and the controlling forces produced by actuators are considered in the equations of motion of the buildings. Linear quadratic regulator (LQR), supervisory fuzzy controller (SFC) and fuzzy logic controller (FLC) are applied in the control designs. For the numerical studies, a real 10 story building subjected to an ensemble of 20 worldwide acceleration records is considered. Since there are many possible positions for placement of piezoelectric actuators in the test building, genetic algorithm is used for finding the optimal arrangement of actuators in order to achieve maximum reduction in building responses. The comparison of the controlled and uncontrolled responses of the test building indicates that the piezoelectric actuators are able to provide considerable reductions in buildings’ seismic responses. Also the performance of the above three controllers reveals that the fuzzy controller is much more effective than the two others.

Average performance of piezoelectric actuators with different controllers in reducing the seismic response of buildings due to ensemble of 20 earthquakes.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights
► We apply piezoelectric actuators for active control of seismic vibration of tall buildings.
► Piezoelectric actuators have good performance in seismic response suppressions.
► Piezoelectric actuators work well with fuzzy controller in seismic active control.