Optimal Placement of Sensors for Controlling Smart Base Isolation Systems

Abstract

Smart base isolation composed of a low-damping base isolation and a supplemental magneto-rheological (MR) damper is one of the most effective semi-active control systems to protect the structures against earthquake. In this study, optimal placement of sensors is determined by using a mixed-integer genetic algorithm for best possible performance. The results show significant effect of sensor configuration on the control system performance, revealing that the sensor configuration should be taken as an important factor in design process of smart base isolation. Besides, although optimal determination of sensor placement improves the control system performance, a high number of sensors is needed to measure structure responses. A method using the least number of sensors is proposed in order to reduce the control cost. The results show the effectiveness of this method in achieving near-optimal response and reducing the control cost.