3-D Shaking Table Investigation of Methodology for Analysis, Design and Implementation of Smart Dampers: Nonlinearity and Asymmetry

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

9908966 Sarkani Smart damping devices (SDDs) can be used for safety and performance of civil infrastructures. Active control devices without requiring the associated large power sources offer the adaptability of the dynamic behavior that cannot inject mechanical energy into the structural system it controls, but it has properties that can be control of the system. One of the most promising classes of SDDs is based on controllable magnetorheological (MR) fluids. Small-scale devices of this type have been extensively tested, and are now commercially available for controlling dynamic response in some types of mechanical systems. The technological problems for applications of large devices remain to be solved. The primary objective of this project is to further extend the SDD technology by considering the behavior of a smart damping system (SDS) -a system consisting of multiple smart MR dampers controllers. And sensors -under realistic operating conditions. The list of possible SDS applications includes essentially all infrastructure elements subjected to human-made vibrations or natural hazard: civil structures, mechanical and aerospace systems, and industrial facilities. A central part of the proposed investigation focuses on experiments with a large-scale infrastructure model equipped with a smart damping system. The experiments will be preceded and followed by substantial computer model-based simulation studies. The computer simulations will be used in designing the experiments and, in turn, the results of the experiments will be used to identify and rectify any shortcomings inn the initial mathematical modeling of the system's behavior. The project is a three-year collaborative effort designed to take maximum advantage of opportunities at each of the three universities: The George Washington University (GWU), the University of Notre Dame (UND), and Texas A&M University (TAMU). This study will make use of the now shake table at GWU. The expertise at UND in MR damper technology, and the expertise in dynamics and control at TAMU.