Hybrid Connected Control Method with Equivalent Performance for Two Flexible Parallel Buildings with Different Heights and Stiffness

Abstract

This study deals with a hybrid vibration control approach using Connected ControlMethod (CCM) in order to apply for two flexible parallel buildings with different heights and stiffness. One of the authors had already proved the effectiveness of the CCM for vibration control of flexible structures arranged in parallel. By connecting these towers via certain damping device, the interactive force is expected to dissipate vibration energy. Besides, by using a passive damping device, the damping effect for each tower cannot be independently tuned. Therefore the vibration response level of two towers against excitation may not be equal. To solve this problem, a hybrid controller combined with passive and active controller is applied for adjusting the amplitude of the first mode of each tower connected by the hybrid controller. Sub-optimal control is applied for designing the hybrid controller. Vibration characteristics of both structures are adjusted by selecting suitably weighting parameters of LQ control. Usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by simulations and experiments.