Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
268021 Engineering Structures 2011 12 Pages PDF
Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness of two adaptive control strategies for modulating the control force of variable friction dampers (VFDs) that are employed as semi-active devices in combination with laminated rubber bearings for the seismic protection of buildings. The first controller developed in this study is an adaptive fuzzy neural controller (AFNC). It consists of a direct fuzzy controller with self-tuning scaling factors based on neural networks. A simple neural network is implemented to adjust the input and output scaling factors such that the fuzzy controller effectively determines the command voltage of the damper according to current level of ground motion. A multi-objective genetic algorithm is used to learn the shape of the activation functions of the network. The second controller is based on the simple adaptive control (SAC) method, which is a type of direct adaptive control approach. The objective of the SAC method is to make the plant, the controlled system, track the behavior of the structure with the optimum performance. Here, SAC methodology is employed to obtain the required control force which results in the optimum performance of the structure. For comparison purposes, an optimal linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller is also developed and considered in the simulations together with maximum passive operation of the friction damper. The results reveal that the developed adaptive controllers can successfully improve the seismic response of base-isolated buildings against various types of earthquake.

► Two adaptive controller are developed to modulate the control force of variable friction dampers. ► The first one is a fuzzy controller with self-tuning scaling factors based on neural networks. ► The second controller is based on the simple adaptive control (SAC) method. ► The performance of the controllers in reducing the response of an isolated building is explored. ► The results reveal that adaptive controllers can improve the seismic response of isolated buildings.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
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