Semi-active control for vibration mitigation of structural systems incorporating uncertainties

Abstract

This study introduces a novel semi-active control scheme, where the linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) is combined with an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) observer, for the real-time mitigation of structural vibration. Due to a number of factors, such as environmental effects and ageing processes, the controlled system may be characterized by uncertainties. The UKF, which comprises a nonlinear observer, is employed herein for devising an adaptive semi-active control scheme capable of tackling such a challenge. This is achieved through the real-time realization of joint state and parameter estimation during the structural control process via the proposed LQR-UKF approach. The behavior of the introduced scheme is exemplified through two numerical applications. The efficacy of the devised methodology is firstly compared against the standard LQR-KF approach in a linear benchmark application where the system model is assumed known a priori, and secondly, the method is validated on a joint state and parameter estimation problem where the system model is assumed uncertain, formulated as nonlinear, and updated in real-time.