Modeling and control of magnetorheological dampers for seismic response reduction

TLDR

Control of civil engineering structures for earthquake mitigation is a rapidly growing field that faces unique constraints, such as power loss during severe events, and magnetorheological dampers offer a low‑power solution that aligns with these requirements. This paper proposes a clipped‑optimal acceleration‑feedback control strategy for magnetorheological dampers to reduce structural responses to seismic loads. The authors develop a new MR damper model and apply the clipped‑optimal control strategy in a numerical example to demonstrate its effectiveness. The numerical results show that the proposed control approach effectively reduces structural responses under seismic loading.

Abstract

Control of civil engineering structures for earthquake hazard mitigation represents a relatively new area of research that is growing rapidly. Control systems for these structures have unique requirements and constraints. For example, during a severe seismic event, the external power to a structure may be severed, rendering control schemes relying on large external power supplies ineffective. Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are a new class of devices that mesh well with the requirements and constraints of seismic applications, including having very low power requirements. This paper proposes a clipped-optimal control strategy based on acceleration feedback for controlling MR dampers to reduce structural responses due to seismic loads. A numerical example, employing a newly developed model that accurately portrays the salient characteristics of the MR dampers, is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.