Vibration Control of Civil Engineering Structures using Magneto-Rheological Dampers

This paper addresses the semi-active control of a scaled model frame equipped with a magneto-rheological (MR) damper, developed within the COVICOCEPAD project (Eurocores program S3T) reporting related research and development related with structural control of civil engineering structures. The scaled frame is a model of a three-storey building with a single MR damper rigidly connected between the ground and the first floor. Among the variety of semi-active control algorithms available for MR damper control, a clipped-optimal control algorithm model-based on the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and a fuzzy control non-model-based algorithm were selected as the semi-active controllers. A small sponge type MR damper was experimentally tested under several input excitations to characterize the damper performance. The simple Bouc-Wen phenomenological model was chosen to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the MR damper and the related model parameters were obtained based on the experimentally measured responses. Some numerical results of the uncontrolled and controlled frame under El Centro earthquake are given to evaluate the performance of the selected control strategies.