A Brief Review of Stochastic Control of Structures

Abstract

Stochastic control of structures is a relatively new area of research. Despite enormous amount of work on deterministic structural control and its application on many civil engineering structures, stochastic structural control is evolving as a promising subject of investigation. The main reason for choosing a stochastic control theory is that most of the feedback and excitation measurements are polluted with noises which are inherently random. Further, environmental dynamic excitations are more realistically modeled as stochastic processes. In this presentation, stochastic control of structures is briefly reviewed in order to highlight different types of researches being carried out in this area in recent years. The review includes linear and nonlinear stochastic control of linear systems, nonlinear stochastic control of nonlinear systems, stochastic control of hysteretic systems, and stochastic control of structures using stochastic linearization technique. A number of interesting applications of stochastic control theory to structures such as stochastic control of hysteretic column, semiactive control of building frame using MR-TLCD, and active control of coupled buildings are discussed. Finally, future scopes of research in this area emerging from the literature review are outlined.