Abstract

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers have received special attention as semi-active devices for mitigation of structural vibrations. Because of the inherent nonlinearity of these devices, it is difficult to obtain a reasonable mathematical inverse model. This paper is concerned with two related concepts. On one hand, it presents a new inverse model of MR dampers based on the normalized Bouc–Wen model. On the other hand, it considers a hybrid seismic control system for building structures, which combines a class of passive nonlinear base isolator with a semi-active control system. In this application, the MR damper is used as a semi-active device in which the voltage is updated by a feedback control loop. The management of MR dampers is performed in a hierarchical way according to the desired control force, the actual force of the dampers and its capacity to react. The control is applied to a numerical three-dimensional benchmark problem which is used by the structural control community as a state-of-the-art model for numerical experiments of seismic control attenuation. The performance indices show that the proposed semi-active controller behaves satisfactorily.

Abstract

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are devices that can be used for vibration reduction in structures. However, to use these devices in an effective way, a precise modeling is required. In this sense, in this paper we consider a modified parameter identification method of large-scale magnetorheological dampers which are represented using the normalized Bouc–Wen model. The main benefit of the proposed
identification algorithm is the accuracy of the parameter estimation. The validation of the parameter identification method has been carried out using a black box model of an MR damper in a smart base-isolated benchmark building. Magnetorheological dampers are used in this numerical platform both as isolation bearings as well as semi-active control devices.