Optimal Design of Liquid Dampers for Structural Vibration Control Based on GA andH∞Norm

Abstract

This paper focused on the optimal design of liquid dampers for the seismic response control of structures. TheH∞norm of the transfer function from the ground motion to the structural response is selected as the optimal objective. The optimization procedure is carried out by using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) in order to reach an optimal solution. The proposed method has the advantages that it is unnecessary to solve the equation of motion for the control system and that the obtained optimal parameters of dampers are not dependent on the ground motion records. The influences of weighted functions on the optimization results are analyzed. The generality and effeteness of the proposed method are verified by the time history analysis of a 3-story structure subjected to earthquake records in different sites. The results show that the structural responses can be effectively reduced subjected to earthquake excitation at different sites.