LQG control of lateral–torsional motion of Nanjing TV transmission tower

The 310 m Nanjing TV transmission tower in China will be installed with an active mass driver on the upper observation deck in order to reduce the acceleration responses under strong wind gusts. This paper presents the linear–quadratic–Gaussian (LQG) control strategy using acceleration feedback to reduce the tower responses under coupled lateral–torsional motion. Emphasis is placed on the practical applications, such as the limitations on actuator peak force and stroke, limited number of sensors, etc. The along- and across-wind components of the wind velocity are defined by the cross-power spectra. In the simulation analysis, both deterministic and stochastic approaches have been used, and the power spectral density, rms values and peak values of response quantities have been computed. Comparisons of the responses of the TV tower due to wind loads from different angles of attack have been made. Simulation results demonstrate that (i) the performance of the active mass driver using the LQG control strategy is remarkable in reducing coupled lateral-torsional motions of the tower, and (ii) the LQG strategy is robust with respect to uncertainties in the angle of attack of wind loads. The LQG strategy is suitable for the full-scale implementation of active mass driver on Nanjing Tower. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.