Seismic Response Control of Adjacent Building by using Hybrid Control Algorithm of MR Damper

Many researchers have attempted to apply semi-active control systems in the civil engineering structures. Semi-active control systems offer the reliability of passive control systems, yet provide the adaptability of active control systems. Recently, magneto-rheological(MR) fluid dampers have been developed. MR fluid dampers can be controlled with small power supplies and the dynamic range of the damping force is quite large. This MR damper is one of semi-active dampers as a new class of smart dampers. This paper discusses the application of MR damper for seismic response control of adjacent buildings subjected to earthquake. Here, a controllable damping force of MR damper that is installed between adjacent buildings is applied to seismic response control. From review of the literature, a performance of groundhook control algorithm is superior for reducing the motion of the floor structure. While skyhook control algorithm is more efficient for TMD motion control. A hybrid model combines skyhook and groundhook control algorithm so that the benefits of each can be combined together. In this paper, hybrid control model are applied to the multi degree of freedom system representative of buildings in order to reduce seismic response of adjacent buildings. And the performance of hybrid control model is compared with that of others. It was demonstrated that hybrid control model of adjacent buildings with MR damper was effective for seismic response control of two adjacent buildings simultaneously. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.