Analysis of vibration control due to strong earthquakes

The paper proposes an aseismic hybrid control system to control the response of structures subjected to large ground motions caused by large magnitude earthquakes. The proposed hybrid control system consists of a base isolation system (laminated rubber bearings) connected to an active control system (a tuned mass damper and an actuator). The base isolation system is used to decouple the horizontal ground motions from the structure, whereas the active control system is used to protect the safety and integrity of the base isolation system. A 5-story benchmark building model is developed to study the effectiveness of the hybrid control system against different ground motions. It was found from the numerical results that rubber bearing system alone shows good performance and resists ground motion due to Hachinohe 1968, Kobe 1995, and Northridge 1994 earthquakes, but is somewhat unable to protect the model against El-Centro 1940 earthquake. After the installation of an active control system onto the rubber-isolated model, further improvements to earthquake resistance against these four earthquakes were observed, especially against the El-Centro earthquake. The merit of the hybrid control system lies in its capability to protect against different ground motions, with varying intensity and frequency content.