Active Structural Control Against Wind

Abstract

In the past two decades, tremendous progress has been made in structural control research (Soong, 1990; Housner et al., 1994). In general, structural control as applied to wind excited motion of structures can be divided into two distinct approaches: structural, where mechanical properties of the structure are altered for control purposes; and aerodynamic, where aerodynamic modifications are made to the structural geometry. Aerodynamic control approach for mitigation of wind induced motion provides a distinct advantage over the traditional structural approach. Aerodynamic control devices are usually energy efficient since the energy in the flow is used to produce the desired control forces. Several passive aerodynamic devices have been developed in the past (Zdravkovich, 1981; Ogawa et al., 1987; Shiraishi et al., 1987; Kubo et al., 1992). Soong and Skinner (1981) performed experiments on an active device, called aerodynamic appendage, for controlling along wind motion of tall buildings. More recently Mukai et al. (1994) used a modified appendage mechanism to accommodate the changes in the angle of at tack of the wind flow with respect to the building.