Developing a Procedure for Simultaneous Vibration Control and Health Monitoring of Structures using Semi-Active Viscous Dampers

Using control devices to enhance system identification and damage detection in a structure requiring both vibration control and structural health monitoring is an interesting yet practical topic. In recent decades several independent research studies have been conducted on the semi-active vibration control and health monitoring of the civil structures subjected to earthquakes, whereas both require similar software. Therefore, where there is a need for both vibration control and health monitoring systems in a building structure, integrating both systems using common equipment would be economical. Application of the viscous dampers for control of buildings, due to their proper seismic performance, lack of significant increase in the structural mass, and least interference with the present situation of the building is rapidly increasing. For this reason, the main goal of this research is to present a new integrated procedure for simultaneous health monitoring and semi-active control of the building structure using the viscous dampers with variable damping coefficients. Next, a scheme is presented for updating the building characteristic matrices and identifying the structural parameters. Finally, according to the updated system matrices, the efficiency of semi-active viscous dampers is investigated. For this purpose, a linear quadratic regulator optimal control algorithm is used for a building subjected to seismic excitations. The results show that the structural parameters are accurately identified; and, at the same time, the building structural vibration is significantly reduced.