Semi-active seismic response control of base-isolated building with MR damper

This study deals with a shake table test on a three-story base-isolated steel frame. The frame rests on four roller bearings for isolation and is equipped with four laminated rubbers as shear spring. An MR damper is used in the test to perform semi-active seismic response control. The basic control algorithm applied in the study is to simulate the load-deflection of an origin-restoring friction damper (ORFD) which is a sort of friction damper that looses its resistance when it moves toward the origin, making sure for the base-isolated system to minimize residual displacement even after an extremely strong ground motion. Also attempted is a hybrid type control that superposes viscous damping on the ORFD when the damper moves from the peak displacement toward the origin.