A novel hybrid semi-active mass damper configuration for structural applications

Abstract

In this paper, a novel energy- and cost-efficient hybrid semi-active mass damper configuration for use in structural applications has been developed. For this task, an arrangement of both active and semi-active control components coupled with appropriate control algorithms are constructed and their performance is evaluated on both single and multi-degree of freedom structures for which practical constraints such as stroke and force saturation limits are taken into account. It is shown that under both free and forced vibrations, the novel device configuration outperforms its more conventional passive and semi-active counterparts, while at the same time achieving performance gains similar to the active configuration at considerably less energy and actuation demands, satisfying both strict serviceability and sustainability requirements often found to govern most modern structural applications.