Benchmark Structural Control Problems for Seismic- and Wind-Excited Structures

Abstract

The theme of this special issue of the Journal is benchmark structural control problems for seismicand wind-excited structures. Tremendous progress has been made over the past 2 decades toward making structural vibration control a viable technology for enhancing structural functionality and safety against natural hazards, such as strong earthquakes and high winds. Over the years, many control algorithms and devices have been investigated, each with its own merits, depending on the particular application and desired effect. Clearly, the ability to make direct comparisons between systems employing these algorithms and devices is necessary to focus future efforts in the most promising directions and to effectively set performance goals and specifications. One approach to achieving this goal is to consider consensus approved, high-fidelity, analytical benchmark models that allow researchers in structural control to test their algorithms and devices and to directly compare the results. The ASCE Committee on Structural Control has recognized the significance of structural control benchmark problems. The Committee developed a benchmark study, focusing primarily on the comparison of structural control algorithms for three-story building models. An extensive analysis of these benchmark structural control problems formed the basis for a special issue of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics ~Spencer et al. 1998a,b!. Several of these algorithms also have been verified experimentally ~Baker et al. 1999!. Building on the foundation laid by the ASCE Committee on Structural Control, new generations of benchmark structural control studies were initiated by the Working Group on Building Control during the Second International Workshop on Structural Control held on December 18–20, 1996, in Hong Kong ~Chen 1996!. As stated by the Working Group, the goal of this effort was to develop benchmark models to provide systematic and standardized means by which competing control strategies, including devices, algorithms, and sensors, etc., can be evaluated. This goal drives the second generation of structural control benchmark problems. As an outgrowth of the workshop in Hong Kong, two benchmark problems for the control of buildings were developed for presentation at the 2nd World Conference on Structural Control held on June 28 to July 1, 1998, in Kyoto, Japan. The first benchmark problem, detailed in Yang et al. ~1999!, proposed a benchmark problem using a 76-story, wind-excited concrete tower designed for Melbourne, Australia. The second benchmark problem, detailed in Spencer et al. ~1999!, used a 20-story structure designed for the Los Angeles area. The structural model in the second benchmark problem was considered to remain perfectly elastic. However, large magnitude earthquakes can cause inelastic behavior in the structural element of civil structures, resulting in nonlinear responses. During the 2nd World Conference on Structural Control held in 1998 in