Passive Control
Passive Control
Passive Control
ABSTRACT
Structural control has been a major research area in aerospace engineering aimed at solving
very complex problems related with analysis and design of flexible structures. The efficiency
of these strategies to improve the performance of several structural systems suggests its
potential to reduce damage and control earthquake-induced response in civil structures.
Therefore, this technology has been well accepted by structural engineers as a feasible
approach to design improved earthquake resistant structures. The present paper provide a brief
description of each control scheme describing the main properties of different anti-seismic
solutions and presenting the most relevant developments in this area. Control methodologies
and devices are highlighted identifying their advantages and limitations. The main focus of
this paper is to present a comprehensive state-of-the-art of passive control system. Different
passive techniques are described and the effectiveness in mitigating seismic hazard for
structures is addressed.
INTRODUCTION
Passive control was among the first control scheme to mitigate vibrations in civil engineering
structures such as buildings and long bridges with high level of seismic safety. This type of
control do not require power to operate and therefore passive systems are non-controllable in
the sense that is not possible to change the control forces or the device behaviour during the
earthquake excitation.
Although the passive nature can be seen as a limitation to the adaptability of the control
system, is also a source of reliability since passive systems are not affected by possible power
outages during the seismic event but also because they have low maintenance requirements.
Therefore, these systems are perceived as a reliable, economic and easy to realize technique to
enhance structural safety and integrity allowing protecting not only structural and non-
structural elements but also building contents for considerably large earthquakes.
Passive devices are designed to dissipate or transfer the seismic energy been transmitted to the
structure and/or isolate the structure from external loadings in order to minimize structural
and non-structural damage. Seismic isolation and passive energy dissipation/transfer are
generally recognized as the most effective and relatively inexpensive anti-seismic protective
systems.
This type of control systems are designed or tuned with uncontrollable and constant properties
to protect the structure from a particular dynamic loading or response by dissipating the
seismic energy using the structural vibration to convert kinetic energy to heat or by
transferring energy among vibrating modes.
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Passive dissipation devices take advantage of the mechanical properties of some materials
such as rubber, steel, lead, viscous and viscoelastic materials or friction mechanisms to
dissipate the seismic energy in order to reduce the plastic deformations in the structural
elements, i.e., to reduce the inelastic dissipation demand of the structural elements (plastic
hinges) and therefore limiting structural damage. Since they are designed to absorb or
concentrate the input energy, some damage may occur in these devices, which require their
substitution after the earthquake although the device replacement is usually easy to perform.
Transferring energy among vibration modes is achieved with supplemental oscillators that
operate as dynamic absorbers (Constantinou and Symans, 1993; Symans et al., 2008).
The strategies based upon passive control are well known and accepted methodologies that
have been applied successfully to civil engineering structures due to its effectiveness to
enhance damping, stiffness and strength of new or existing structures for natural hazard
mitigation (Soong and Spencer, 2002). Although their passive nature offers significant
reliability compared to other control strategies since they do not require external energy to
operate (they can operate during a power outages, no energy is injected into the system and
they guarantee a stable response), the constant behaviour of passive devices is a significant
limitation since the system does not perform with efficiency for other dynamic loading or
structural configuration.
Passive control system are generally designed to provide one or a combination of the
following functions:
1. Vertical rigidity or load capacity to support gravity loads in order to provide structural
integrity (in the case of base isolation systems);
2. Lateral flexibility to elongate the natural period of the structure (period shift effect of
base isolation systems);
3. Restoring force and re-centering capability to reduce residual displacements to
manageable levels;
4. An energy dissipation mechanism to absorb the input energy and control the lateral
deformation of flexible elements.
According with the operating principle, passive devices can be grouped into three basic types:
isolators, supplemental damping devices and supplemental oscillators as shown in Table 1.
Isolators are essentially base isolation systems that uses a period shit effect and also energy
dissipation to reduce the energy been transmitted to the structure. In this case, the stiffness of
the system is reduced introducing a flexible layer or isolator between the ground (base of the
building or foundations) and the structure. Rubber bearings have been extensively used to
produce isolation devices and base isolation systems for vibration control and dampening due
to its energy absorption capability.
Supplemental damping devices are based on kinetic energy to heat conversion to dissipate the
seismic energy either by hysteretic or viscous dissipation mechanisms. Different types of
dampers, sometimes in combination with base isolation systems, are used as passive
dissipation devices to reduce the displacement demand of structural and non-structural
elements.
Finally, energy transfer is obtained with additional oscillators.
Anti-seismic passive control is an on-going research field and many innovative materials or
control solutions have been proposed and develop to produce passive devices such as Shape
Memory Alloys (SMA) dampers, electro inductive dampers (DECS), post-tensioned energy
dissipating (PTED) steel connections, Scrap Tire Pads (STP) isolators, roll-n-cage (RNC)
isolators, Rubber-Soil Mixtures (RSM), Scrap Tyre-Soil Mixtures (STSM), isolators made of
geo-synthetic materials, BS cushion (treated asphalt-fiber seismic base isolation cushion), etc.
BASE ISOLATION
Passive isolation systems are the easiest, reliable and cost-effective structural control
approach that can be used to protect buildings and bridges from the harmful effects of
undesired strong seismic vibrations. They have been adopted most widely in the last decades
as the prevailing mitigation technique in seismic prone regions either for new projects or to
retrofit existing structures.
There are several potential seismic isolation solutions and the following represent some of the
most acknowledged or original strategies that have been proposed for base isolation of civil
structures (Naeim and Kelly, 1999; Özden, 2006; Tsang, 2008; Tsang et al., 2009; Moustafa
et al., 2009; Patil and Reddy 2012):
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Isolation devices/systems
Among the different base isolation systems and devices, elastomeric and sliding bearings are
the most widely used strategy for vibration isolation in buildings and bridges. Although many
other base isolation systems are available, they have seen little to no implementation in real
applications. The major types of seismic isolation bearings are listed in Table 2.
Besides the typical base isolation systems, there are a significant amount of devices and
isolation techniques that have been proposed and investigated with the purpose to create
simple, effective and economic seismic isolation systems. These systems intend to improve
the properties of current base isolation systems reducing their usual drawbacks while keeping
the main advantages.
Some of these base isolation techniques are based on simple structural concepts like springs
and rollers to create the isolation layer, namely spring-based and rolling-based isolation
systems (rolling rods, rolling pendulum, Ball-N-Cone, multi-step isolation systems, mutually
eccentric rotators, directional rolling pendulum, RoBall isolation systems, etc.) while other
systems attempt to use innovative concepts like employing synthetic liners and artificial soil
layers to create a flexible layer under the structure (e.g. geo-synthetic materials and rubber-
soil mixtures).
New designs such as the Roll-n-Cage isolator and innovative materials such as shape memory
alloy (SMA) bars used to dissipate energy and re-center the device have also been used to
make base isolation systems (Casciati et al., 2007; Moustafa et al. 2009).
Moreover, new base isolation solutions based on recycled materials are being tested not only
with an environmental concern but mainly to develop inexpensive devices that can be used in
developing countries either in relatively simple and less important structures or non-structural
elements. Good examples of the latter type of isolation systems are those that use scrap or
used tires to create scrap tire pads isolators or scrap tyre-soil mixtures.
Although each of these isolation systems has specific dynamic properties that provide a
certain level of structural protection within the seismic design requirements and code
provisions, there are still no wide-ranging seismic isolators capable to deal with the dynamic
and variable nature of an earthquake or wind loading. Therefore, the selection of an isolation
device must be carried out according with the control level to be achieved over the seismic
response. However, with proper design and implementation, base isolation systems are both
an effective and an inexpensive approach to seismic vibration mitigation.
There are a wide range of isolation devices that can be used to create seismic isolating
systems for buildings and bridges. Although they all ensure that the essential requirements of
a base isolation system are achieved, each device has their own characteristics.
The main advantages and disadvantages of each type of isolation device are summarized in
Table 3.
Although the limitations of base isolation system can sometimes make impracticable their
applicability, overall the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Thus, despite the
disadvantages of base isolation systems, this control approach is the most widespread,
reliable, efficient and economical solution for vibration mitigation of earthquake ground
motions.
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Force Force
Displacement Displacement
Displacement-dependent dampers
Force Force
Displacement
Displacement
b. hysteresis
b. hysteresis
loops forloops
velocity-dependent
for velocity-dependent
dam dampers
Velocity-dependent dampers
Viscoelastic dampers2
1
These devices will be addressed in a separate section.
2
Viscoelatic dampers are displacement and velocity dependent.
The main types of energy dissipation devices classified according with their rate-dependence
behavior are shown in Table 4 (Christopoulos and Filiatrault, 2006).
Usually, conventional dampers are unable to limit residual displacements after a seismic event
and consequently there have been some attempts to create damper systems that incorporate re-
centering capabilities. These energy dissipation devices have a particular rheological behavior
characterized by a flag-shaped hysteretic loop that cannot be described by the basic hysteretic
loop types depicted in Fig.1. They include self-centering devices such as phase transformation
dampers (based on shape memory alloys), energy dissipation restraint systems, frictional-
spring assemblies with re-centering capabilities, fluid restoring force/damping dampers and
post-tensioned energy dissipating systems, etc. (Soong and Dargush, 1997; Constantinou et
al., 1998; Hanson and Soong, 2001).
Passive dampers are usually installed in diagonal or chevron braces as shown in Fig. 2a-b,
which may result in small damper displacements that are not large enough to dissipate
significant amount of seismic energy. Therefore, several toggle systems have been proposed
to magnify the damper displacement and the effective damping force as shown in Fig. 2c-d
(Sigaher and Constantinou, 2003).
a) Diagonal brace b) Inverse V or Chevron braces
Displacement amplifiers
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The main concern of supplemental damping design is the significant residual displacements in
the structure after the earthquake. Thus, the re-centering capability of the system is an
important characteristic that must be considered to minimize residual deformations. Many
self-centering hysteretic systems have been proposed such as rocking systems, energy
dissipating restraint devices, SMA dampers, Ring-Spring systems, post-tensioned frame and
wall systems, etc. These new passive control systems incorporate yielding and self-centering
properties allowing the structure to return to its original position after an earthquake.
Each of the mentioned systems has different properties and the selection of a specific device
must be in accordance with the seismic and structural performance, reliability and other
requirements that were proposed during the design procedure. The main advantages and
disadvantages of common passive energy dissipation devices are enumerated in Table 5
(Symans et al., 2008).
Several other possible supplemental damping solutions have been proposed or implemented
to reduce seismic response of civil structures and the use of innovative materials and new
designs opens up new possibilities for the passive control of buildings and bridges.
The energy dissipation is achieved by the damper inertia force acting on the structure
(Housner et al., 1997; Soong and Spencer, 2002). These systems are mostly efficient to
control wind-induced vibrations in slender structures such as towers and tall buildings and
usually tuned dampers can be classified in three groups:
The classical configuration of a tuned damper is the so-called TMD that was previously
addressed and consists of a secondary mass with properly tuned spring and damping elements,
which provides a frequency dependent hysteresis that increases damping in the primary
structure. Therefore, the effect of the TMD can be related with an increase in the damping of
the structural system. This device is particularly effective to mitigate wind-excited responses
for stationary narrow band excitations, but is less effective for broadband excitation such as
earthquake. Several types of TMDs are available for practical implementation and common
configurations are shown in Fig. 3 (Cheng et al., 2008).
Fig. 3 Typical types of TMDs: a) simple pendulum, b) pendulum with damper, c) inverted
pendulum, d) two-mass damper, e) multistage damper, f) sliding mass with spring and
damper, (g) swinging mass on rotational bearings, and h) mass on rubber bearings.
Tuned liquid dampers (TLD) and tuned liquid column dampers (TLCD) operate on the same
principle of TMDs but instead of using a mass-spring-dashpot system to absorb the wind or
seismic energy, these systems use the movement of a liquid to obtain the same effect. While
TLD uses the sloshing of the liquid in a tank to dissipate seismic energy (viscous action of a
liquid and wave breaking), TLCD generates high-flow turbulence by the passage of a liquid
through orifices to provide damping capacity (Fig. 4).
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TLD TLCD
Since they are passive devices, they do not depend on an external power source. In addition to
these advantages, tuned mass dampers present the following general benefits (Maldonado-
Mercado, 1995):
1. They can be considered in new design or in existing structures and the impact of these
devices on the design of the structure is minimum (they do not interfere with the
principal vertical and horizontal load paths of the structure).
2. A single unit can be effective in reducing vibrations induced by small earth- quakes,
wind and traffic.
3. These devices can respond to small level of excitation and their properties can be
adjusted in the field.
Besides, TLD and TLCD have some additional advantages such as low cost and maintenance
(compared with TMDs), they are ease to install and their properties are easily tuned in the
field by changing the liquid level (Chang and Hsu, 1998; Chang, 1999; Soong and Spencer
Jr., 2002). Moreover, a single TLD can be effective in any direction of lateral vibrations and
water used for TLD can serve a dual purpose as part of the building’s fire protection supply
(Cheng et al., 2008).
On the other hand, these devices have some disadvantages compared with other passive
systems (Maldonado-Mercado, 1995):
1. TMDs require a large mass for their effectiveness (limited by the maximum weight
that can be placed on top of the structure) and a large space is needed for their
installation and operation (there must be enough space to allow the mass to move).
Besides, some additional space must be required to install constraint systems to limit
the mass movement.
2. TMDs require field adjustment during the installation procedure to fine-tune their
functioning in according with the real natural frequencies of the structure. Periodic
adjustments can also be required to keep their effectiveness during the service life of
the structure.
3. Due to their passive nature, these devices are used to control the response of a
structure for a specific vibration mode. Therefore, multiple devices are required to
control the response of several vibration modes.
4. Although these devices can respond to low-level excitations, friction can limit their
efficiency to control this type of excitation. Thus, particular attention should be taken
to create a low friction device to ensure a suitable operation.
Likewise, TLD and TLCD have some additional disadvantages when compared with TMDs.
First, these devices exhibit a highly nonlinear response due to liquid sloshing and the presence
of orifices, which complicates the analysis and design process. In addition, they require more
space than classical TMDs due to liquid mass density that is significantly lower than solid
materials used in the TMDs.
CONCLUSIONS
The large diversity of passive control devices indicates the importance that has been devoted
to structural control for vibration reduction in buildings and bridges in the last decades. A
brief description of each passive control scheme was provided describing the main properties
of different anti-seismic solutions. Passive control is an acknowledged prevailing technique
for achieving high efficiencies and reliability. This approach has become a common and
widespread structural control scheme with many applications in civil engineering. Any of the
mentioned tuned damper systems represent an effective way to control the structural response
to dynamic loads. They are easy to design and construct (a simple mass-spring-dashpot
system is used) with low maintenance requirements and therefore these devices can be cost
effective compared with other control strategies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e
Ensino Superior, FCT, Portugal, under grant SFRH/BD/49094/2008.
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