Shaking Table Test of Semi-active Mass Damping System using MR Damper

Shaking Table Test of Semi-active Mass Damping System using MR Damper

A semi-active mass damping system(SMD) utilizing magnetorheological(MR) damper is proposed in this paper. This study aimed to integrate the reliable characteristic of the traditional tuned mass damper(TMD) and the superior performance of the active mass damper(AMD). A full-size three-story steel building was used as the benchmark structure to verify the proposed damper’s performance in both the numerical simulation and shaking table tests. To predict accurately the behavior of the MR dampers, a series of performance tests with various excitation and command voltages were done. According to the performance test data, a modified Bouc-Wen model was identified and has been used to represent the nonlinear behavior of the MR damper. Unlike the clipped-optimal control, the LQR with the continuous-optimal control, which can generate the continuous varying command voltage, was used to calculate online the optimal command voltage to the MR damper. Both numerical simulation and shaking table test results demonstrated the superior mitigation ability of the proposed SMD. In addition, the control effect of the proposed SMD system is compatible to the traditional bracing system with passive dampers. The proposed SMD system provides an alternative solution and can be implemented easily during construction.