Quadratic jerk regulation and the seismic control of civil structures

Regulation of the total structural jerk is a means of managing the structural energy and enhancing the performance of civil structures undergoing large seismic events. A quadratic regulator is derived for the total structural jerk that produces a single algebraic Riccati equation to define the control gains. The resulting control method is tested using a realistic non-linear structural control case study where the structural response is statistically quantified for large suites of scaled earthquakes. The control method developed is shown to be more effective than typical displacement-focused active and semi-active civil structural control methods. In particular, quadratic jerk regulation provides better performance than typical structural control methods for near-field seismic events where the response is dominated by a large impulse, and relatively poorer results for far-field seismic inputs where the response is vibratory. Hence, this type of control approach has strong potential for mitigating the damage for large impulse, near-field events, where jerk regulation provides much more efficient response and damage management. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.