Placement and Elimination of Vibration Controllers in Buildings

Abstract

This chapter reveals the control sensor/actuator elimination method, which has proved to be an effective means of determining the optimal number, placement, and design of sensor/actuators. Dynamic loads on civil structures due to earthquakes can cause excessive vibrations that can lead to serious structural instability resulting in building damage and/or collapse. Building vibrations can be reduced using controller. It is necessary for structural engineers to determine not only the optimal placement and design of these controllers but also the number of controllers required to achieve a predetermined performance. Currently, there are several methods of placing controllers, many of which only consider the placement of a predetermined number of sensor/actuators. In this chapter, a new method is introduced to simultaneously determine the number of necessary controllers, and the optimal placement and design of these controllers needed to retrofit existing structures. To do so, it is assumed that active tendon controllers are placed between every floor of the structure. Controllers are then eliminated in part on their gains and their effect on the building's response. Controllers with smaller gains are eliminated first, as their effect on the building's response is insignificant and, therefore, deemed unnecessary. Controllers with larger gains are eliminated according to the building's response with and without the controller in question. The proposed method is compared to similar work, where a finite number of sensor/actuators are placed sequentially and simultaneously.