Earthquake Hazard Mitigation for Uncertain Building Systems Based on Adaptive Synergetic Control

This study presents an adaptive control scheme based on synergetic control theory for suppressing the vibration of building structures due to earthquake. The control key for the proposed controller is based on a magneto-rheological (MR) damper, which supports the building. According to Lyapunov-based stability analysis, an adaptive synergetic control (ASC) strategy was established under variation of the stiffness and viscosity coefficients in the vibrated building. The control and adaptive laws of the ASC were developed to ensure the stability of the controlled structure. The proposed controller addresses the suppression problem of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) building model, and an earthquake control scenario was conducted and simulated on the basis of earthquake acceleration data recorded from the El Centro Imperial Valley Earthquake. The effectiveness of the adaptive synergetic control was verified and assessed via numerical simulation, and a comparison study was conducted between the adaptive and classical versions of synergetic control (SC). The vibration suppression index was used to evaluate both controllers. The numerical simulation showed the capability of the proposed adaptive controller to stabilize and to suppress the vibration of a building subjected to earthquake. In addition, the adaptive controller successfully kept the estimated viscosity and stiffness coefficients bounded.