Application of Wireless Active Sensing Units to Control a Structure Using MR-Dampers

This study proposed three classic control algorithms (H2, H∞, Mixed H2 and H∞) to generate adequate controllers for either centralized or decentralized control of building structure using both cable and wireless sensing and control units. The complete control system contains three Magneto-Rheological (MR) dampers located on each floor of a 3-story steel-frame structure and tested it on a shaking table. With MR dampers installed in the structure, structural responses during seismic excitation are measured by wireless sensors and communicated to the MR damper’s wireless active sensing unit where H2 controller have been implemented. Both cable and wireless structural sensing and control system are used to verify the accuracy of semi-active control algorithms to building control. Finally, by evaluating the control performance from each control system, the feasibility of the decentralized control has been proved for three different control algorithms.