Adaptive Sliding Mode Control for Civil Structures Using Magnetorheological Dampers

An adaptive sliding mode controller for vibration control is proposed in this paper for structures embedded with magnetorheological (MR) dampers. Civil structures and buildings are liable to damages during earthquake periods. The application of structural control methodologies is important in order to suppress vibrations due to seismic phenomena and dynamic loading. The use of sliding mode control is accounted for by its robustness to system uncertainties and external disturbances while a MR damper is technologically-efficient for its vibration control and also fail-safe for an ideal semiactive device. The control performance is enhanced by implementing an adaptive control law in estimating the system parameters. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in a building model under earthquake-like excitations.