• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.39-50
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• 2009

In this paper, a method for reducing seismic responses of adjacent buildings is studied that involves connecting two buildings with energy-dissipating devices, such as MR dampers. For the vibration control of the adjacent buildings, a fuzzy control technique with semi-active MR dampers is proposed. A fuzzy controller, which can appropriately modulate the damping forces by controlling the input voltage in real time, is designed according to the proposed method. To verify the validity of the proposed method, numerical simulations are performed. In the numerical simulations, historical earthquake records with diverse frequency contents and different peak values are used. For the purpose of comparison, an uncontrolled system, a passive control system and a semi-active fuzzy control system are considered. The comparative results prove the effectiveness of the proposed control technique, i.e. the numerical results show that the fuzzy controlled semi-active MR dampers can effectively reduce the earthquake responses of the adjacent structures.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.3 s.73
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• pp.233-238
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• 2006

In this paper, mixed mode magneto-rheological(MR) damper, which is applicable for vibration control of a small scale multi-story structure, is devised. First, the schematic configurations of the shear, flow, and mixed mode MR dampers are described with design constraints and then the analytical models to predict the field-dependent damping forces are derived for each type. Second, an appropriate size of the mixed mode MR damper is manufactured and its field-dependent damping characteristics are evaluated in time domain. Finally, the performance of the manufactured MR damper which is semi-actively applied to a small scale building excited by earthquake load, is numerically evaluated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.329-345
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• 2015

As commonly known, sensor errors and faulty signals may potentially lead structures in vibration to catastrophic failures. This paper presents a new approach to deal with sensor errors/faults in vibration control of structures by using the Fault detection and isolation (FDI) technique. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, a space truss structure with semi-active devices such as Magneto-Rheological (MR) damper is used as an example. To address the problem, a Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) based fixed-order $H_{\infty}$ FDI filter is introduced and designed. Modeling errors are treated as uncertainties in the FDI filter design to verify the robustness of the proposed FDI filter. Furthermore, an innovative Fuzzy Fault Tolerant Controller (FFTC) has been developed for this space truss structure model to preserve the pre-specified performance in the presence of sensor errors or faults. Simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed FDI filter is capable of detecting and isolating sensor errors/faults and actuator faults e.g., accelerometers and MR dampers, and the proposed FFTC can maintain the structural vibration suppression in faulty conditions.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.209-224
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• 2006

The use of smart dampers to optimally control the response of structures is on the increase. To maximize the potential use of such damper systems, their accurate modeling and assessment of their performance is of vital interest. In this study, the performance of a controllable fluid dashpot damper, in terms of damper forces, damper dynamic range and damping force hysteretic loops, respectively, is studied mathematically. The study employs a damper Bingham-Maxwell (BingMax) model whose mathematical formulation is developed using a Fourier series technique. The technique treats this one-dimensional Navier-Stokes's momentum equation as a linear superposition of initial-boundary value problems (IBVPs): boundary conditions, viscous term, constant Direct Current (DC) induced fluid plug and fluid inertial term. To hold the formulation applicable, the DC current level to the damper is supplied as discrete constants. The formulation and subsequent simulation are validated with experimental results of a commercially available magneto rheological (MR) dashpot damper (Lord model No's RD-1005-3) subjected to a sinusoidal stroke motion using a 'SCHENK' material testing machine in the Materials Laboratory at the University of Technology, Sydney.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2017

This paper proposes a hydraulic circuit for a Magnetorheological (MR) damper that can be used for semi-active and active controls. Methods are presented for obtaining reliable damping force displacement and velocity data, and hysteresis loop data corresponding to applied current. In order to get reliable data, analysis using electric and electronic software, a series of tests. and comparative evaluations are required. A hydraulic circuit model is proposed that can be applied to analyze a MR damper without any assumptions where the yield stress data according to the applied current are known. Analysis results of the proposed hydraulic circuit are confirmed by experimental results within acceptable tolerance. This hydraulic circuit model can be applied to various MR dampers and systems.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.729-737
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• 2014

A study has been carried out that effectively controls the vibration of asymmetric cable-stayed bridges caused by earthquakes with MR dampers. In order to enhance the practical serviceability of MR dampers, an asymmetric cable-stayed bridge structure has been designed and produced, and a MR damper has been produced so as to have this bridge structure controlled appropriately. An experiment that controls vertical and horizontal vibrations has been carried out by exciting the asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the horizontal direction with the El-centro seismic wave. The control performance of the MR damper has been evaluated under the five control conditions in the experiments of vibration control in each direction. As a result of the experiment, MR dampers were proved to control vibrations more effectively when either Lyapunov control algorithm or Clipped-optimal control algorithm was used to control vibrations of the asymmetric cable-stayed bridge caused by earthquakes. In addition, different controlling effects were found in vibration controls in vertical and horizontal directions due to the asymmetry of the structure and the horizontal excitation. With such controlling effects, semi-active MR dampers are evaluated to effectively control vibrations caused by earthquakes in flexible and asymmetric structures such as asymmetric cable-stayed bridges.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.6 s.52
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• pp.47-56
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• 2006

A method is presented for evaluating the economic efficiency of a semi-active magneto-rheological (MR) damper system for cable-stayed bridges under earthquake loadings. An optimal MR damper capacity maximizing the cost-effectiveness is estimated for various seismic characteristics of ground motion. The economic efficiency of MR damper system is addressed by introducing the life-cycle cost concept. To evaluate the expected damage cost, the probability of failure is estimated. The cost-effectiveness index is defined as the ratio of the sums of the expected damage costs and each device cost between a bridge structure with the MR damper system and a bridge structure with elastic bearings. In the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the scale of damage cost is adopted as parametric variables. The results of the evaluation show that the MR damper system can be a cost-effective design alternative. The optical capacity of MR damper is increased as the seismic hazard becomes severe.