Resetting Semiactive Stiffness Damper for Seismic Response Control

Abstract

Recently, a semiactive hydraulic stiffness damper operating in the resetting mode, referred to as the resetting semiactive stiffness damper (RSASD), was shown to be effective in reducing the structural response due to dynamic loads. In this paper, a general resetting control law based on the Lyapunov theory is proposed for an RSASD. The performance of such a resetting controller and of a switching control method are investigated through extensive numerical simulations using different types of earthquake excitations. Simulation results indicate that an RSASD is more effective in suppressing the building response subject to earthquakes than a switching semiactive stiffness damper. Likewise, the performance of a particular control method depends on the types of earthquake excitations.