MR damper-based smart passive control system for seismic protection of building structures

Abstract

This paper investigates the feasibility and efficacy of an MR damper-based control system introducing an electromagnetic induction (EMI) part, for suppressing vibration of building structures subjected to seismic loadings. In the proposed control system, the EMI part composed of a permanent magnet and a coil converts the kinetic energy of the relative motion between a building and a damper into the electric energy, which is used for a change in damping characteristics of the MR damper. Since the EMI part can be used as a controller, which determines the command voltage input according to structural responses, as well as a power source, the proposed control system can be much more compact, convenient, and economic than a conventional active/semiactive system that needs a power supply, a controller and sensors. To verify the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed control system, a shaking table test of a small-scale building model employing the MR damper with the EMI part is conducted. The performance of the proposed control system is compared with that of conventional semiactive control systems using an MR damper.