Seismic response reduction of a building using top-story isolation system with MR damper

Abstract

In this study, the adaptability of a semi-active top-story isolation system with an MR damper for reduction of seismic responses of tall buildings has been investigated. To this end, a 20-story building structure was selected as an example. Low damping elastomeric bearings and an MR damper were used to compose a smart top-story isolation system. Artificial earthquakes generated based on design spectrum were used for structural analyses. A fuzzy logic controller (FLC) was used to control an MR damper and the FLC was optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithms (MOGA). Numerical simulations show that a smart top-story isolation system can effectively reduce both structural responses and isolation story drifts of the building structure compared to a passive system.