LQG vibration control effectiveness of an electric active mass damper considering soil–structure interaction

Abstract

The design of an electric active mass dampers (AMD) system requires the knowledge of the structure properties behavior and the soil where it is installed. These properties must be accurate to ensure the effectiveness of the AMD. In the previous works, the researchers consider that the structure is constructed on fixed-base. If the structure is constructed on soft soil, the properties of the structure can change due to the soil–structure interaction (SSI) effect. This, can lead to a considerable effect on the performance of the AMD system. This paper evaluates the LQG vibration control effectiveness of an electric active mass damper considering SSI effects for buildings subjected to seismic excitation. Dynamic model of a multi-story building including the AMD system and considering SSI effect is developed. The SSI analysis is performed using the substructure method. To control the electric AMD, a Linear Quadratic Gaussian algorithm is adopted. A five-story concrete building subjected to the El Centro earthquake excitation is used as a model structure. Different types of soils are considered. Simulation results show that the SSI leads to a considerable effect on the vibration control effectiveness of the electric AMD. Consequently, in the design of electric types AMD, the consideration of SSI become very important when the structure is constructed on soft soil.