Structural Control:

Overview and Fundamentals

Akira Nishitani
Vice President & Professor
WASEDA University, Tokyo, Japan
anix@waseda.jp

Outline
1. Introduction for WASEDA and Myself
2. Introduction for Structural Control
3. Some keywords for structural control
4. Brief view of active structural control
5. Components of control system
6. Semiactive structural control
7. Smart damping or smart dampers
Continued

Outline (Contd)
8. Significance of nonlinearity or artificially-

added nonlinearity in structural control

9. Semiactive variable slip-force level
dampers
10. Future directions
Appendix LQ control and LQG control

 1. Introduction for:
Waseda Univ. and
myself

About Waseda

Waseda University since

1882

Waseda University since

1882

Waseda University:
- Second oldest private university in Japan, founded

in 1882.
- 125th Anniversary in 2007.
- the first private university in Japan that
established engineering school.
- Waseda Department of Architecture is the second
oldest in Japan.

Data of Waseda University:

- Number of students: 50,000

- Number of students in School of Science

and Engineering: 7,000
- More than 100,000 application forms
submitted to the Admission Center every
year

About myself.

Myself :
PhD at Columbia, 1980
Vice-President, Waseda Univ.
since 2006.
- Professor of Structural Engineering
in Dept. of Architecture,
since
1993.

Myself (Contd) :
- Have been doing researches related to smart
structures technology including active/semiactive
structural control for nearly 20 years.
- Have been involved to the activity of IASCM
[ International Association for Structural Control and
Monitoring ]
since its establishment in 1994.

Myself (Contd) :
- Have been the Chairperson of
the
JSPS [Japan Society for Promotion of Science]
157th Committee on Structural
Response Control
since April 2007.
- Currently, Vice-President, JAEE [Japan
Association of Earthquake Engineering].

 2. Introduction for:
Structural Control

Structural Control:
Active control

Passive control

Structural Control:
Active control

Passive control

With or without
Energy
supply
With or without
Control
computer

Structural Control:
Active control

Passive control

With
Energy supply
With
Control
computer

Structural Control:
Active control

Without
Energy supply

Without
Passive control Control
computer

Structural Control:
Active control
- Full-active control
- Semi-active or Semiactive control
- Hybrid control
Passive control
- Base Isolation
- Passive damper-based control

Structural Control:
The idea of
seismic structural control:
not a totally new idea.
The basic principles
for seismic response control:
presented in Japan in 1960.

Seismic Response Control Principles:

1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
2. Prevent a structure from exhibiting the
resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a main
structure to the secondary oscillator.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
structure.
5. Add a control force to a structure.

These ideas were

proposed by Kobori and
Minai in 1960.

Professor Takuji Kobori

They proposed the idea

of:
Seismic-ResponseControlled Structures or

Seismic-response-controlled
structure
Building

Nonlinear
mechanis
m
Nonlinear
mechanis
m

Nonlinear
mechanis
m
Nonlinear
mechanis
m

Seismic Response Control Principles:

1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
Base Isolation

2. Prevent a structure from exhibiting the

resonance vibration.
Base Isolation

3. Transfer the vibration energy of a

structure
to the secondary
oscillator.
TMD Control

4. Put additional damping effect to a

structure.
Passive damper control

Japan has been leading

the world in terms of the
practical applications of
structural control
schemes.

Practical Applications in Japan:

# of Buildings:
Base isolation: over 2,000
Passive dampers: over 300
Active control: over 40

 Keywords for
structural control.

- TMD
- AMD
- Smart damper
- Semiactive damper
- Controllable damper
- LQ control
- LQG control

- TMD: Tuned Mass Damper

- AMD: Active Mass Damper
- Smart damper
- Semiactive damper
- Controllable damper
- LQ control
- LQG control

- TMD: Tuned Mass Damper

- AMD: Active Mass Damper
- Smart damper
- Semiactive damper
- Controllable damper
- LQ control
- LQG control

There are many kinds of

smart expressions such as
smart cars,
smart dampers,
smart structures,
smart medicine, etc.

Indeed,
The Merriam-Webster
Paperback Dictionary
gives a modern interpretation
of smart.

Containing a microprocessor
of limited calculating
capability.

With the names such as

smart structures,
intelligent structures,
dynamic intelligent buildings,

etc.,
civil structures have been getting
more and more human beings-like
characteristics.

 4. Overview of
active structural
control:

- In 1989,
a real building with active control technology
applied was completed
in Tokyo, Japan.

- This was the first

full
scale implementation of active or computerbased response control
in the world.

Professor Takuji Kobori

The name of the building:

Kyobashi Seiwa Building
(Currently,
Kyobashi Center Building)

Kyobashi Center
Building

- This building employed an AMD

system.
- AMD is one of the typical active

control devices or actuators for

buildings.

AMD AMD

- AMD is a mass of weight

installed into the top floor or

near top floor,
which is manipulated by
a control computer
based on the response data.

The inertial force

resulting from AMD movement
Control force

Structure
responding to

Seismic or wind excitation

AMD
Driving Force
AMD

Building

AMD

Driving Force

Mass of AMD

AMD

Building
Mass of Building

AMD

xa
k

X
K
xg

building or
main
structure

The equation of motion of a structural

system with AMD integrated is:
m
0

0
M

x k
X
k

m
0

m x a k

M X k

k
k K

x
m
u
X M x g u

0 xa
m
u
x g

K X
M

The equation of motion of a structural

system with AMD integrated:
m
0

m
M

0 xa
x a k
m
u

x g
X

k
K
X
M

From the first raw ,

) kx m x u
m ( x a X
a
g
x ) kx u
m ( x a X
g
a
x ) u kx
m ( x X
a

Combining the above with the second raw of (1),

KX Mx m ( x X
x )
MX
g

(1)

The equation of motion of a structural

system with AMD integrated:
KX Mx m ( x X
x )
MX
g
a
g
KX ( M m ) x m x
( M m) X
g
a

AMD

xa

x
xg

As a result,
since the birth of the worlds first
active-controlled building,
now more than 40 buildings
in Japan have installed
a variety of active control schemes.

Full-scale active control implementations:

Kyobashi Seiwa Bldg., 1989
Bidg. #21, Kajima Technical Research Institute, 1990
Sendagaya INTES, 1992
Applause Tower, 1992
Osaka ORC 200, 1992
Kansai Airport Control Tower, 1992
Long Term Credit Bank, 1993
Ando Nishikicho Bldg., 1993
Porte Kanazawa, 1994
Shinjuku Park Tower, 1994
RIHGA Royal Hotel, 1994
MHI Yokohama Bldg., 1994
Hikarigaoka J City, 1994
Hamamatsu ACT City, 1994
Riverside Sumida, 1994
Hotel Ocean 45, 1994
Osaka WTC Bldg., 1995

Full-scale active control implementations(cont.):

Dowa Kasai Phoenix Tower, 1995
Rinku Gate Tower, 1995
Hirobe Miyake Bldg, 1995
Plaza Ichihara, 1995
HERBIS Osaka, 1997
Nisseki Yokohama Bldg., 1997
Itoyama Tower, 1997
Otis Elevator Test Tower, 1998
Bunka Gakuen, 1998
Oita Oasis Hiroba 21, 1998
Odakyu Southern Tower, 1998
Kajima Shizuoka Bldg., 1998
Sotetsu Bldg., 1998
Century Park Tower, 1999
Sosokan, Keio Univ., 2000
Gifu Regional Office, Chubu Power Electric Company,
2001

However,
most of these implementations were
mainly aimed at the response control
against small/moderate seismic or
strong wind excitation.

The ultimate goal of active control:

To enhance the structural safety

against

severe seismic events.

Need to establish
control scheme as to
final goal of
control.

such a
achieve the
active structural

Reference:
A. Nishitani and Y. Inoue (2001).
Overview of the application of active/semiactive control in
Japan,
Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics , Vol.
30(11), pp.1565-1574.

Active structural control:

- The full-scale active control implementation

to a civil structure
has opened the door
to modern earthquake engineering or
modern structural engineering.
- Structural engineering is now integrating
more and more modern, advanced and
IT-related technologies.

 5. Components of
Control System:
- How is a control system
composed?

From the point of view of

system control engineering, ..

Control System:
- Plant structure whose
responses are controlled
- Sensors
- Control computer (Controller)
- Control actuator

Control System:
Control
Input

Seismic
Input

Plan
t
Actuato
r
Controlle
r

Sensor
s

Seismic Structural Control:

1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation
which a plant is subjected to.
2. Prevent a plant from exhibiting
the resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a
plant
to a control-actuator.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
plant.
5. Add a control force to a plant
through an actuator or actuators.

Passive Control System:

Plant structure whose
responses are controlled
Sensors
Control computer

(Controller)
Control actuator

Base Isolation:
Plant structure whose
responses are controlled
Sensors
Control computer

(Controller)
Control actuator

Passive Damper Control:

1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
2. Prevent a plant from exhibiting
the resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a
plant
to a control-actuator.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
plant.
5. Add a control force to a plant.

TMD Control:
1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
2. Prevent a plant from exhibiting
the resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a
plant
to a control-actuator.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
plant.
5. Add a control force to a plant.

Base Isolation:
1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
2. Prevent a plant from exhibiting
the resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a
plant
to a control-actuator.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
plant.
5. Add a control force to a plant.

Active Control System:

Plant structure whose
responses are controlled
Sensors
Control computer

(Controller)
Control actuator

AMD Control:
1. Reduce the effect of seismic excitation.
2. Prevent a plant from exhibiting
the resonance vibration.
3. Transfer the vibration energy of a
plant
to a secondary vibration
system.
4. Put additional damping effect to a
plant.
5. Add a control force to a plant.

Theoretically,
There are two kinds of active
control schemes: ..

Theoretically,
There are two kinds of active
control schemes:
Feedback control

and
Feed-forward control.

External input such as seismic

excitation

Control
Input

Actuato
r

Plan
t

Sensor
s

Output

Controlle
r

External input such as seismic

excitation

Control
Input

Actuato
r

Plan
t

Sensor
s

Output

Controlle
r

Feedback

External input such as seismic

excitation

Control
Input

Plan
t

Sensor
s
Output

Controller
+Actuator

Feedback

External input such as seismic

excitation

Plan
t

Respons
e

Control
Input

Controlle
r

Feedback

External input excitation

H(s)
Control
Input

G(s)
Feedback

Response

External input excitation

Plant transfer
function

H(s)
Control
Input

Feedback
gain

G(s)

Feedback

Response

External input excitation

Plant transfer
function

H(s)
Control
Input

Feedback
gain

G(s)

Feedback

Response

Controller
+Actuator
Sensor
s

External
input such
as seismic
excitation

Plan
t

Contr
ol
Input

Respons
e

G(s)
External
input
excitation

H(s)

Contr
ol
Input

Respons
e

G(s)
External
input
excitation

H(s)

Feed-forward
Control

Contr
ol
Input

Respons
e

 6. Semiactive Structural
Control:
- What is semiactive control?
- How is semiactive control
conducted?

Semiactive control:
Combines the beneficial
features of both of
passive and active control
systems.

Semiactive control:
Passive control:
No energy supply to a control
actuator needed.

Active control:
Flexibility, Adaptability,
Efficient performance.

Semiactive control:
- Less energy
- More efficiency
- Better
performance

Control System:
- Plant structure whose
responses are controlled
- Sensors
- Control computer (Controller)
- Control actuator

Control System:
Seismic
Input

Plan
t
Actuato
r
Controlle
r

Sensor
s

Semiactive control:
There are two major ways
defining or characterizing
semiactive control concept.

The most general definition:

Semiactive control is

The most general definition:

Semiactive control is conducted

by changing or controlling
a part of charactersitics of

control actuator
only at appropriate time
instants.

The most general definition:

Semiactive control is conducted

by

changing or controlling
a
part of charactersitics of control
actuator
only at
appropriate time instants.

Adaptive characteristics.

This definition leads to:

- Large power not needed.
- Required power not
dependent
of the magnitude of
seismic excitation.

The second significant point:

Semiactive control operation
does not inject mechanical
energy into a plant structure or

control device or actuator.

The second significant point:

Semiactive control operation
does not
inject mechanical energy into a plant
structure or control device or actuator.
It has much less potential
to
destabilize the structure.

In typical semiactive control:

Actuator: Damper
Controlled characteristics such as
the damping coefficient,
the magnitude of relief load, etc.,
of the damper are controlled.
This kind of dampers are ..

Typical semiactive control:

Actuator: Damper
Ccontrolled characteristics such as
the damping coefficient,
the magnitude of relief load, etc.
of the damper are controlled.
This kind of dampers are
called controllable dampers.

Then, for example,

consider a type of semiactive control
in which the damping
coefficients
of installed viscous
dampers are controlled.

Then, for example,

consider a type of semiactive control
in which the damping coefficients
of installed viscous dampers are
controlled.

This change would not have any effect

on the structure which is not subject to
any other external input excitation.

On the contrary,
the movement of AMD could

make an entire structure vibrate

even in case of no other external
input excitation.

On the contrary,
the movement of AMD would make an
entire structure vibrate even in case of no
other external input excitation.

This is very significant difference

between
full-active and
semi-active control.

AMD
Power
AM
D
Building

Controlled dampers
Smart dampers
One of smart control schemes
Control scheme based on smart or
controlled dampers

 7. Smart damping
or Smart Dampers

Vibration Control
- Buildings
- Motor vehicle suspensions

z
Car Body
or
Building
Sprin

Dampe
r

xg

- Computer control of
of suspension systems
in 1980s.
- Computer control
of buildings in 1989.

z
Car
Body
Sprin
g

Dampe
r

xg

- Ride Comfort
Absolute movement
of car body = 0
- Driving Stability
Movement of car body
= Movement of ground

Trade-off between

ride comfort
and
driving stability
Spring
Damper

Variable

Transfer function
from xg to z

z ( )
x g ( )

Low damping
High damping

For better ride comfort,

smaller absolute accelerations.
High damping is not appropriate
for the high-frequency region.

Constant damping is not

appropriate.

Skyhook damper

z
xg

Skyhook damper

Csh
z
C

xg

Skyhook damper

Csh
z
C
. .

xg
.

C (z-xg) = Csh z

Skyhook damper

Csh

C
. .
.
C (z-xg) = Csh z
.

. .

C = Csh [z / (z-xg)]

xg

Pioneering Implementations
of Smart Damping:
Kajima Shizuoka Building
Keio University Soso-kan Building
Chubu Electric Power (CEP)
Gifu Regional Office Building

Kajima Shizuoka
Building

- Kajima Shizuoka Building

The Worlds first smart damping
or semiactive variable damping
implementation to a building.

Variable damping system in

Kajima Shizuoka Bldg.:
The damping coefficients
of oil-dampers is controlled
so that LQG-based optimal control
force should be provided
in terms of damping force.

Keio Univ. Soso-kan

Building

- Keio Univ. Soso-kan Building

The worlds first smart baseisolated building or
building with base isolation
integrating semiactivelycontrolled
variable damping system.

CEP Gifu
Regional Office

- CEP Gifu Regional Office Building

The worlds first building
employing
an autonomous-decentralized
semiactive smart damping system.

Autonomousdecentralized control
system

A-D Control System:

Seismic
Input
Act
.

Plan
t

Sensor
Act
s
.
Act
Controlle
.
r
Controlle
Sensor
r
s
Sensor
Controlle
s
r

Autonomous-Decentralized
Control System:
- Each of distributed control systems
is autonomously controlled
by its own local, decentralized
controller, not by only one center
controller.

- Height of a huge, high-rise

building
- Width of a huge building with
very wide floors
One central control computer
does not seem appropriate.

Autonomousdecentralized control
system (AD control system)

A-D Semiactive Damper

Switching Oil Damper with Builtin Controller

Switching oil damper with built-in

controller
-The damper is a Maxwell type of
system consisting of
a stiffness element (spring)
and
a controllable
oil damper element.

Damper
Spring

Cmax

Cmin
Vel

Disp

By properly choosing the damping

coefficient,

2
Cmax

Cmin

1
Cmi

Cmax

Passive
Damper
Hysteresis

Cma
x

Cmax
Cmax

Cma
x

- Each damper autonomously

controlled by its own
decentralized controller
Autonomous-decentralized
control system

-Several newly constructed

buildings in Japan have installed
this type of semiactive damper
systems.
-Switching oil damper with builtin controller

The Shiodome District

The Shiodome Kajima

Tower

The Shiodome Kajima

Tower

Roppongi Tower

Autonomous-decentralized
control system
- Control operation could be
conducted based upon the
response information only in the
neighborhood of each control
devise.

Autonomous-decentralized
control
+ Artificial Nonlinearity concept
seems appropriate or fitted to
structural control against severe
seismic excitations.

 8. Significance of nonlinearity
or artificially-added nonlinearity
in structural control
- Basic concept
- Control effect
- Oil hydraulic dampers

Bi-linear subsystem

Linear
structure

tan-1K

tan-1K
tan-1K

tan-1(+)K

tan-1 K
tan-1 K

Damping
Coefficient =
W/W/(4)

tan-1K
tan-1 K
Equivalent viscous damping ratio
= (1-)/((1+))

( 1 )/( 1 )/

=0.7
=0.8
=0.9
=1.0

What would happen to a SDOF

structure subjected to seismic
excitation with this algorithm?

Case 1: ==0.5
Case 2: <

= 0.3; = 0.7
El Centro 1940 earthquake NS
component with 2 m/sec2

Response Accelerations
== 0.5 0.5

=0.3, = 0.7

Response Displacement
== 0.50.5

= 0.3, = 0.7

0.7

Damper hystereses

= = 0.5 0.5

=0.3, = 0.7

As an AD semiactive control
system integrating artificial
nonlinearity philosophy,

Variable slipforce level

dampers

 9. Semiactive Variable
Slip-force Level Dampers
- Basic concept
- Control effect
- Oil hydraulic dampers

- Basic concept:
- Semiactive control
- Utilizing artificial nonlinearity
- Autonomous-decentralized system

A damper is controlled
so that it begins to slip at the
occurrence of peak velocity.
- No need for modeling.
- Only local response
information needed.

Damper
ductility
factor = 2

The effectiveness of this scheme:

is analytically measured in
terms of equivalent viscous
damping ratio.

Damper+Structure

tan-1 K
tan-1(+)K

What would happen to a SDOF

structure subjected to seismic
excitation with this algorithm?

Case 1: ==0.5
Case 2: <

= 0.3; = 0.7
El Centro 1940 earthquake NS
component with 2 m/sec2

Response Accelerations
== 0.5 0.5

=0.3, =
0.70.7

Response Displacement
== 0.50.5

= 0.3, = 0.7

0.7

Damper hystereses

= = 0.5 0.5

= 0.3 , =
0.70.7

Case 1: == 0.5
Estimated damping
coefficient = 0.087

Case 2: = 0.3; = 0.7

Estimated damping
coefficient = 0.162

Acceleration Response Spectrum

Simulation for a 20-storie highrise building:

- Steel structural model

accounting for shear and
bending deformations.

Natural Period of original

structural model:
- 1st Mode: 1.78 sec
- 2nd Mode: 0.577 sec
- 3rd Mode: 0.310 sec

- Dampers are installed on every

floor.
- Each damper is controlled only
based upon the interstory drift
response velocity. Autonomousdecentralized control.
- Damper is effective only on shear
deformation.

Autonomous-Decentralized
Control System:
- Each of distributed control systems
is autonomously controlled by its
own local, decentralized
controller, not by only one center
controller.

Building 1: == 0.7
Building 2: == 1.0

(a) Accelerations

(b) displacements

Maximum resoponses

The presented concept can be put

into practice utilizing an oilhydraulic damper-based device.
- A damper containing an
electromagnetic relief valve is
utilized.

The presented concept can be put

into practice utilizing an oilhydraulic damper-based device.
- A damper containing an
electromagnetic relief valve is
utilized. This is a kind of
variable-orifice damper.

orifice

electromagnetic
relief valve

piston

rubber bush

13

Experimental model of
semiactive variable slip-force
level damper

Relationship between damper velocity

and electric voltage given to the valve

shear force
(kN)

shear force
(kN)

Experimental results responding to sinusoidal

excitation with increasing amplitudes

Constant
slip-force
level

Variable
slip-force
level
Displacement (mm)

Reference:
A. Nishitani, Y. Nitta and Y. Ikeda (2003).
Semiactive structural-control based on variable slip-force
level dampers,
J. of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 129(7), pp.933940.


- Semiactive and smart concept based
schemes have been presented for
structural control of buildings
as well as the full scale implementations
of some of such schemes in Japan.
-


- The concept of semiactive variable slipforce level dampers has been presented.

 10. Future directions:

directions
- Semiactive and smart strategies, or
smart passive strategies, are expected to
play more and more significant role in the
future stage of structural engineering,
integrating the autonomousdecentralized concept.
-

 Optimal control:
LQ control & LQG control:
control
LQ:

Linear, Quadratic
LQG:

Linear, Quadratic and Gaussian

-

 LQ control & LQG control:

control
Two schemes for optimal control:
Response: whether probabilistic
or deterministic?

If the response is probabilistic,

then
the control input will be probabilistic.
LQG control.
-

 LQ control & LQG control:

control
In the case where
the response and control input are
stationary, Gaussian random processes,
LQG control.
-

The equation of motion of a structural

system with control input:
2
x 2 0 x 0 x f u

1 x 0
x 0

x 2 2 x 1 u

0
0
Thisequationis rewrittenas:
x Ax bu cf
d
dt

The state equation:

x Ax bu cf
In theabove,
f : determinis
tic,then
x : determinis
tic,then
u : determinis
tic.
LQ control.

The state equation:

x Ax bu cf
In theabove,
f : stationaryGaussianwhite- noise
withzero- mean,then
x : stationaryGaussianwithzero- mean,
u : stationaryGaussianwithzero- mean.

LQG control

1 T
2

J lim [ x ( t )Qx( t ) ru ( t )] dt
T T 0
If u and x areprobabilis
tic,
J is alsoprobabilis
tic.

1
E[ J ] E lim [ x ( t )Qx ( t ) ru 2 ( t )] dt
T T 0

u and x arestationary
.
1
E[ J ] lim
T T

( E[ x ( t )Qx( t )] E[ru ( t )]) dt

u and x arestationary
.
1 T
2

E[ J ] lim ( E[ x ( t )Qx( t )] E[ru ( t )]) dt

T T 0
1 T
2
E[ J ] lim ( E[ xQx ] E[ru ]) dt
T
T 0
2

E[ J ] lim ( E[ x Qx ] E[ru ])
T

u and x arestationary
.
E[ J ] lim ( E[ x Qx ] E[ru 2 ])
T

Controlinputis givenby
Pu( t ) Gx( t )
FeedbackgainG is givenby
G r 1bP
satisfyingthe followingequation:
PA AP Pbr 1bP Q 0
RiccatiEquation.

LQG control:

LQG control statistically

satisfies the samllest value of
E[J].

Epigram:
Little people discuss other
people.
Average people discuss events.
Big people discuss ideas.
(M.S. Grewal, A.P. Andrews.
Kalman Filtering: Theory and
Practice Using MATLAB [Second
Edition], John Wiley, 2001)

Thanks for your

attention.