Semiactive–passive structural vibration control strategy for adjacent structures under seismic excitation

The objective of this paper is to study a structural vibration control strategy for seismic protection of multi-structure systems that combines interstructure passive damping elements with local feedback control systems implemented in the substructures. These local feedback control systems are independently designed and operated, and use semiactive devices with limited actuation capacity as force actuators. The combined action of local semiactive feedback control systems and passive interstructure links can produce an appropriate reduction in the substructuresʹ vibrational response and, simultaneously, provides additional protection against interstructure collisions. The proposed semiactive–passive control strategy is remarkably robust against large external disturbances and failures of the local feedback control systems, and also has a number of particular characteristics that can be specially relevant in practical implementations: low cost and power requirements, design and implementation flexibility, and conceptual simplicity. Due to the complexity of a general multi-structure system, a particular two-building system has been chosen to present the main ideas.