Control of Bridge Structures with Semi-active Tuned Mass Damper

Abstract

Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) is widely used in civil engineering. the performance of this device depends on their state parameters and therefore the evolution of the bridge may pull down the efficiency of this kind of device. Active tuned mass damper (ATMD) have been explored widely for applications in damping response control of bridges under construction. This paper presents a new semi-active control based on an electromechanical device. This semi-active tool consists of a pendulum coupled to an alternator. The alternator converts the mechanical energy of the oscillating pendulum into electric energy to be dissipated through an exterior resistor via Joule effect. In order to damp the torsional mode of a bridge during successive construction phases, the electromechanical actuator was connected to the bridge and its parameters were changed in real time by using a new semi-active control law. This control law, once applied to the resistor, permits to modify in real time the damping coefficients and the stiffness of the TMD with the aim of obtaining an optimal configuration for the actuator at each construction phase. Numerical and experimental validations on a small-scale bridge dynamical behaviour confirm the interest of the approach.