Intelligent technology-based control of motion and vibration using MR dampers

Due to their intrinsically nonlinear characteristics,development of control strategies that are implementable and can fully utilize the capabilities of semiactive control devices is an important and challenging task.In this study,two control strategies are proposed for protecting buildings against dynamic hazards,such as severe earthquakes and strong winds,using one of the most promising semiactive control devices,the magnetorheological (MR) damper.The first control strategy is implemented by introducing an inverse neural network (NN) model of the MR damper.These NN models provide direct estimation of the voltage that is required to produce a target control force calculated from some optimal control algorithms.The major objective of this research is to provide an effective means for implementation of the MR damper with existing control algorithms.The second control strategy involves the design of a fuzzy controller and an adaptation law.The control objective is to minimize the difference between some desirable responses and the response of the combined system by adaptively adjusting the MR damper.The use of the adaptation law eliminates the need to acquire characteristics of the combined system in advance. Because the control strategy based on the combination of the fuzzy controller and the adaptation law doesn't require a prior knowledge of the combined building-damper system,this approach provides a robust control strategy that can be used to protect nonlinear or uncertain structures subjected to random loads.

Seismic response control of a complex structure using multiple MR dampers: experimental investigation

This paper presents an experimental investigation on semi-active seismic response control of a multi- story building with a podium structure using multiple magnetorheological (MR) dampers manipulated by a logic control algorithm.The experiments are performed in three phases on a seismic simulator with a slender 12-story building model representing a multi-story building and a relatively stiff 3-story building model typifying a podium structure.The first phase of the investigation is to assess control performance of using three MR dampers to link the 3-story building to the 12-story building,in which seismic responses of the controlled two buildings are compared with those of the two buildings without any connection and with rigid connection.The second phase is to investigate reliability of the semi-active control system and robustness of the logic control algorithm when 2 out of 3 MR dampers fail and when the electricity supply to MR dampers is completely stopped.The last phase is to examine sensitivity of semi-active control performance of two buildings to change in ground excitation.The experimental results show that multiple MR dampers with the logic control algorithm can achieve a significant reduction in seismic responses of both buildings.The proposed semi-active control system is of high reliability and good robustness.

Simplified design method for shear-valve magnetorheological dampers

Based on the Bingham parallel-plate model, a simplified design method of shear-valve magnetorheological （MR） dampers is proposed considering the magnetic circuit optimization. Correspondingly, a new MR damper with a full-length effective damping path is proposed. The prototype dampers are also fabricated and studied numerically and experimentally. According to the test results, the Bingham parallel-plate model is further modified to obtain a damping force prediction model of the proposed MR dampers. This prediction model considers the magnetic saturation phenomenon. The study indicates that the proposed simplified design method is simple, effective and reliable. The maximum damping force of the proposed MR dampers with a full-length effective damping path is at least twice as large as those of conventional MR dampers. The dynamic range of damping force increases by at least 70%. The proposed damping force prediction model considers the magnetic saturation phenomenon and it can realize the actual characteristic of MR fluids. The model is able to predict the actual damping force of MR dampers precisely.