Application of pseudo‐negative stiffness control to the benchmark cable‐stayed bridge

The effectiveness of a variable damper employing pseudo‐negative stiffness control on benchmark cable‐stayed bridges was studied. Combination of a pseudo‐negative stiffness hysteretic loop produced by the variable damper plus elastic stiffness of the deck‐tower connections produces a hysteretic loop that approaches rigid perfectly plastic force–deformation characteristics with a large damping ratio. The advantage is that sensors are required only at damper connections to measure relative displacements. Moreover, the small amount of sensors and simple algorithm reduce the source of errors and uncertainties. Comparisons are made between passive, pseudo‐negative stiffness, and active control for the phase II benchmark bridge. The results of pseudo‐negative stiffness control are significantly better than those of passive control and comparable to those of active control. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.