Experiments on active structural control under seismic loads

Two control systems, an active tendon system and an active mass damper system are selected for study for possible real structural implementation. Presented in this paper are simulation results when these systems in simple configurations are applied to a scaled-down six-story frame building in the laboratory. These results show that a simple active control system can be effective in response control of complex structures under earthquake loads. Relative merits of the two active systems are compared together with a discussion of some general control requirements expected in performing the experiments.