Integrated fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms for multi-objective control of structures using MR dampers

Seat suspension is an important system to the ride comfort experience of a commercial vehicle's driver and passengers. The usage of magnetorheological (MR) dampers in seat suspension systems has been shown to offer a momentous enhancement regarding to the ride comfort. In the majority, research work on seat MR dampers has been emphasized on the control implementation but most of them were not quite appropriate for the semi-active and nonlinear hysteretic nature of the MR damper. This paper introduces a deeply investigation into the application of a semi-active MR damper for a truck seat suspension, enabling more efficient control algorithm. The proposed control system consists of a system controller that calculates the desired damper force using a fuzzy logic control (FLC) algorithm, and a signum function damper controller that provides an approximation of the command voltage required to track the desired damping force. A mathematical model and the equations of motion of a two degree-of-freedom semi-active seat suspension with an MR damper are derived and simulated using Matlab/Simulink software. The proposed semi-active MR seat suspension is compared to passive and uncontrolled seat suspensions for prescribed base displacements. These inputs are representative of the vibration of the body mass of a passive quarter-vehicle suspension under bump and random-profile road excitation. Seat travel distance and driver body acceleration are assessed as system performance criteria through bump and random road excitations, in order to quantify the efficiency of the proposed semi-active control technique. The simulated results indicate that the proposed FLC of the semi-active MR seat suspension provides a significant enhancement in ride comfort.

Magnetorheological (MR) damper is a prominent semi-active control device for earthquake response mitigation of structures. The most important topic for the intelligent MR structures is choosing the control current of MR damper quickly and accurately. The typical control strategy is on-off control strategy, while inherent time-delay and coarse control precision lie in this strategy. This article proposes a semi-active control strategy for restricting the MR structures efficiently, in which the genetic algorithm (GA) is adopted to search for the optimal feedback control gain in time-delayed dynamic equations forming a GA controller, and next optimize the control current of the MR damper accurately by a series of GA procedure. The GA strategy has the capability to effectively control the MR structure involving time delay and adjusting for controlled current of the MR damper timely and accurately. Accordingly, numerical examples are used to testify that the feedback gain optimized by GA has the capability to reduce a given objective response dramatically. In addition, a comparison between GA controller and LQR controller indicates that the proposed approach performs much better than LQR method, especially in time-delay systems. Finally, simulation results for a seismically excited structure subjected by the MR damper are presented to verify that the semi-active strategy using GA is predominant in mitigating the dynamic structure efficiently. The strategy and the results presented will also throw light on the development and control of other novel structures.

To explore the addressed issue of closed-loop vibration control using semi-active magneto-rheological (MR) fluid damper, an innovative control algorithm based on feedback of acceleration response at several points along stay cable for active/semi-active control of stay cables is firstly proposed in the present paper. Theoretical analysis, laboratory investigation, and in-situ tests are conducted in this study to verify the proposed control algorithm. Moreover, this paper presents the negative stiffness characteristic of the combined stay cable/semi-active MR damper system. These investigations indicate that the semi-active MR damper can achieve much better mitigation efficacy than the other passive MR dampers and the proposed control algorithm is proved to be practical. The effect of the negative stiffness on response reduction is demonstrated by the improved energy dissipation ability of the damper due to the enhanced displacement of the stay cable at the location attached with the damper. Introduction In the past few decades, many control methods have been proposed and some have been implemented to mitigate the unaccepted stay cable vibration (Johnson, 2003). At present, semi-active dampers have been proven to be effective in many applications and can potentially achieve performance levels that are almost the same as comparable active devices. For stay cables vibration control incorporated with semi-active dampers, most of the existing control strategies are based on full-state feedback of generalized coordinates. However, the generalized displacements and velocities of the stay cable cannot be measured directly. Since accelerometers can readily provide reliable and inexpensive measurements of the stay cable accelerations at strategic points on a stay cable, development of control method based on acceleration feedback at limited locations along stay cable is an ideal solution to solve the addressed practical problem. Moreover, even though the characteristic of negative stiffness of active control of stay cable vibration has been observed by some researchers(Johnson, 2003), the effects of negative stiffness on the stay cable vibration control using active/semi-active dampers 2 has not been fully researched in the present literatures. In this paper, a control algorithm based on feedback of acceleration response at several points for active and semi-active control of mass-distributed dynamic systems, e.g. stay cables is firstly proposed. Using the proposed control algorithm, the vibration control for the stay cable model attached with one MR damper and a series of field tests are carried out to investigate the control efficacy achieved by different control strategies. These investigations address that the semi-active MR damper can achieve much better mitigation efficacy than other passive MR dampers and the proposed control algorithm is proved to be practicable and available. Moreover, the effect of the negative stiffness provided by semi-active MR dampers on response reduction of cables is theoretically and numerically demonstrated by the improved energy dissipation ability of the damper due to the enhanced displacement of the cable at the location attached with the damper. Control Algorithm Based on Acceleration Feedback at Several Locations Governing equation of the combined stay cable/MR damper system shown in Figure 1 is given as (Irvine, 1981) ) ( ) ( ) , ( ) , ( ) , ( ) , ( d s x x t u t x f t x v c t x v T t x v m − + = + ′ ′ − δ & & & (1) with the boundary conditions v(0,t)=v(l,t)=0 for all t .where v(x,t) is the transverse deflection of the cable, l is the length of the cable, T is the cable tension, m and c are the cable mass and viscous damping per unit length, respectively, xd is the distance of the installed MR damper position from the left end, us(t) is the transverse control force provided by the MR damper at location x= xd, f(x,t) is the distributed load along the cable. δ(.) is the Dirac delta function. Figure1. Combined stay cable/MR damper system The transverse deflection could be approximated using a finite series ) ( ) ( ) , ( ∑ = = r j j j x t q t x v 1 φ (2) where the φj(x) is a set of shape modal functions and continuous with piecewise continuous slope to satisfy the geometric boundary conditionsφj(0)= φj(l)=0. Utilizing the approximate series solution and a standard Galerkin approach, the motion equation of the cable-MR damper system in matrix form is written as ) ( ) ( f Kq q C q M q t u x s d φ + = + + & & & (3)

Semi-active control of buildings and structures with magnetorheological(MR) dampers for earthquake hazard mitigation represents a relativelynew research area. In this paper, the Bingham model of MR damper isintroduced, and the formula relating the yielding shear stress and the controlcurrent of MR dampers is put forward that matches the experimentaldata. Then an on-line real-time control method for semi-active control ofstructures with MR dampers is proposed. This method considers thetime-delay problem of semi-active control, which can solve distortion of theresponses of structures. Finally, through a numerical example of a three-storeyreinforced concrete structure, a comparison is made between controlledstructure and uncontrolled structure. The calculated results show thatMR dampers can reduce the seismic responses of structures effectively.Moreover, the on-line real-time control method is compared with thetraditional elastoplastic time-history analysis method, and the efficacy ofthe on-line real-time control method is demonstrated. In addition, theLevenberg–Marquardt algorithm is used to train the on-line control neuralnetwork, and studies show that the algorithm has a very fast convergencerate.

Structural control has gained significant attention in recent times. The standalone issue of power requirement during an earthquake has already been solved up to a large extent by designing semi-active control systems using conventional linear quadratic control theory, and many other intelligent control algorithms such as fuzzy controllers, artificial neural networks, etc. In conventional linear–quadratic regulator (LQR) theory, it is customary to note that the values of the design parameters are decided at the time of designing the controller and cannot be subsequently altered. During an earthquake event, the response of the structure may increase or decrease, depending the quasi-resonance occurring between the structure and the earthquake. In this case, it is essential to modify the value of the design parameters of the conventional LQR controller to obtain optimum control force to mitigate the vibrations due to the earthquake. A few studies have been done to sort out this issue but in all these studies it was necessary to maintain a database of the earthquake. To solve this problem and to find the optimized design parameters of the LQR controller in real time, a fast Fourier transform and particle swarm optimization based modified linear quadratic regulator method is presented here. This method comprises four different algorithms: particle swarm optimization (PSO), the fast Fourier transform (FFT), clipped control algorithm and the LQR. The FFT helps to obtain the dominant frequency for every time window. PSO finds the optimum gain matrix through the real-time update of the weighting matrix R, thereby, dispensing with the experimentation. The clipped control law is employed to match the magnetorheological (MR) damper force with the desired force given by the controller. The modified Bouc–Wen phenomenological model is taken to recognize the nonlinearities in the MR damper. The assessment of the advised method is done by simulation of a three-story structure having an MR damper at the ground floor level subjected to three different near-fault historical earthquake time histories, and the outcomes are equated with those of simple conventional LQR. The results establish that the advised methodology is more effective than conventional LQR controllers in reducing inter-storey drift, relative displacement, and acceleration response.

The current research work is directed to study and improve vehicle behavior during crashes. Hence, a crash-pitch controller integrated with Magneto-Rheological (MR) dampers implemented in both vehicle suspension system and front-end structure is designed and studied. The methodology of the work is based on modeling the vehicle dynamical attitude as a half-car mathematical model that is developed with 3 degrees of freedom (DOF), longitudinal, bounce, and pitch. The model is constructed to study the vehicle’s dynamic response in a full-frontal collision against a fixed barrier. Additionally, a fuzzy logic controller is developed to integrate the suspension MR dampers with another set of MR dampers implemented within the vehicle’s front-end structure. Four different vehicle cases were discussed and compared within the simulation results of the developed model. Moreover, the four mentioned cases can be clarified as first free-rolling, second replacing the vehicle’s conventional dampers with MR dampers, third implemented MR dampers within the vehicle’s front-end structure, finally the fourth case through the integration of MR dampers implemented within both front-end structure and suspension system. Hence, the fourth case was implemented through the augmentation of simultaneous crash-pitch controllers. The simulation results showed a noticeable improvement in the front-end structure deformation as it had been reduced. Moreover, the vehicle’s body attitudes had also been improved where pitch angle had been reduced as well as its settling time. Also, pitch acceleration had been reduced which benefits human body exposure.

In this paper, a new current control algorithm has been proposed in order to control the current provided into a coil which produces a magnetic field in the MR (magneto-rheological) damper. The MR (magneto-rheological) damper is able to control a damping coefficient of the fluid through an orifice by using the MR fluid which has a characteristic of viscosity variation according to inducted current. In general, The MR CDC (continuous damping control) damper has faster response time than other ones. However, the MR damper has disadvantage of time delay according to input command due to very large inductance of internal coil. A new robust lead compensation control algorithm has been to overcome the above disadvantage of the MR damper. The proposed control algorithm is also able to provide more robust current control performance even under variation of the coil resistance induced from temperature variation.

A promising solution for semi-active vibration control of different dynamic systems is to use magnetorheological (MR) dampers. In the present study, the investigation focuses on developing a novel single and multi-coil self-powered magnetorheological (MR) damper system using electromagnetic induction (EMI) for seismic mitigation. The conventional MR dampers, which rely on external power sources, can be unreliable and impractical in earthquake-prone locations. Thus, the EMI device connected to the MR damper can be used as an effective and alternative power source for the MR damper, results in a self-powered system. The proposed energy-harvesting system is an MR damper placed above the top of the piston. The coil is wound around the piston, and the outer casing with a ferrite magnet is fixed. As the mechanical energy of the piston is converted into electrical energy, its self-tuning capacity is a perfect fit for structural vibration control applications. The MR damper is subjected to cyclic and time-history loading. At a maximum amplitude of 15 mm, the damper generated 1767.8 N for cyclic loading and -1780 N for earthquake loading, the El Centro earthquake 1940 is considered for the study. By placing EMI, the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy and powers the damper to avoid external power. The experimental results showcase enhanced damping forces and adaptability, thereby establishing it as an innovative and effective it can be alternative to conventional MR dampers for vibration control in future

Due to their intrinsically nonlinear characteristics, development of control strategies that are implementable and can fully utilize the capabilities of semiactive control devices is an important and challenging task. In this study, two control strategies are proposed for protecting buildings against dynamic hazards, such as severe earthquakes and strong winds, using one of the most promising semiactive control devices, the magnetorheological (MR) damper. The first control strategy is implemented by introducing an inverse neural network (NN) model of the MR damper. These NN models provide direct estimation of the voltage that is required to produce a target control force calculated from some optimal control algorithms. The major objective of this research is to provide an effective means for implementation of the MR damper with existing control algorithms. The second control strategy involves the design of a fuzzy controller and an adaptation law. The control objective is to minimize the difference between some desirable responses and the response of the combined system by adaptively adjusting the MR damper. The use of the adaptation law eliminates the need to acquire characteristics of the combined system in advance. Because the control strategy based on the combination of the fuzzy controller and the adaptation law doesn’t require a prior knowledge of the combined building-damper system, this approach provides a robust control strategy that can be used to protect nonlinear or uncertain structures subjected to random loads.

Neuro‐Fuzzy Control of Railcar Vibrations Using Semiactive Dampers

This paper presents an approach for learning the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model by Genetic Algorithm (GA). In this approach, the fuzzy rule structure is encoded by binary code in the chromosome in which the position of 1 indicates the selected rules and the sum of 1 indicates the number of rules. The membership function (MF) parameters (centres and bases) are evolved by GA in combining with the pseudo-inversion algorithm for obtaining the consequent parameters. The sum of squared error (SSE) between the true output and the T-S model prediction is used as objective function. Then, this approach is applied to the modelling of dynamic behaviour of a magneto-rheological (MR) damper which shows highly nonlinear characteristics due to hysteretic phenomenon. It is shown by the validation test that the developed T-S fuzzy model can represent the dynamic behaviour of the MR damper satisfactorily.

Due to low power consumption and fast response, magnetorheological (MR) dampers are widely used in various engineering applications. To enhance the performances, efforts have been made to increase the field dependent force with the same power consumption. However, the fluid viscous force is also increased significantly, which is undesirable in practical use. To tackle this problem, the focus of this paper is to design and test a new MR damper with micro-grooves for performance enhancement. First, the detailed design of the proposed MR damper is provided. A prototype of the new MR damper is fabricated. Silicon steel circular rings with thickness of 0.25 mm are installed around the damper piston to form two-layer micro-grooves. Experimental results of the two MR dampers without and with micro-grooves are then compared. The advantages of MR damper with micro-grooves over the one without micro-grooves are validated. The damping force and controllable force range of MR damper with micro-grooves are larger than the one without micro-grooves. When designing MR damper, making micro-grooves can also decrease the increment of fluid viscous force while keeping the same increase of field dependent force. With micro-grooves, the field dependent force is increased by 92.7% with the same power consumption, while the fluid viscous force is increased by 43%.

The semi-active control of MR damper is established, using a simplified model of landing gear system and DSP2812 as the code control board. The fuzzy control system is created based on software fuzzyTECH and simulation mode was established in matlab\simulink. Compared with passive control, the fuzzy control damping effect of the aircraft body vertical acceleration, body relative displacement and wheel dynamic load at different moments in the process of plane's taking off and landing. Software fuzzyTECH platform can generate the corresponding code for the DSP controller, applied directly to the fuzzy control system design and debugging, and shorten the development cycle of fuzzy algorithm control. Passive control and fuzzy control test are carried out on the landing gear vibration test platform. The results show that the application of fuzzy algorithm controller has higher adaptability and more real-time control effect, fuzzy control is better than passive control.

Magnetorheological fluid dampers are attractive candidates for augmentation of lag mode damping in helicopter rotors, where additional damping is required to avert instabilities only during specific flight conditions. Magnetorheological (MR) fluids change properties dramatically with application of a magnetic field. This active damping component presents an advantage over passive elastomeric and fluid-elastomeric dampers. An extensive comparative study of fluid-elastomeric and MR dampers is presented. The study was conducted with four (a pair each) 1/6th Froude scale dampers. The MR dampers were tested with the magnetic field turned off (OFF condition) and with the magnetic field turned on (ON condition). The dampers were rested individually and in pairs, under different preloads, and under single and dual frequency excitation conditions. The fluid-elastomeric and MR (OFF) damper behavior was linear, while the MR (ON) behavior was nonlinear with the stiffness and damping varying with the displacement amplitude. Under dual frequency conditions, the MR dampers (ON condition) showed a significant degradation in damping and stiffness as the dual frequency excitation was increased. The MR (OFF) dampers showed no change in properties. The fluid-elastomeric dampers showed a mild degradation in stiffness and damping under dual frequency excitation conditions. The MR (ON) damper hysteresis was modeled using a nonlinear viscoelastic plastic model. The model captures the nonlinear behavior accurately. Using the single frequency parameters, the dual frequency hysteresis behavior was predicted, and it correlates well with experimental data.

Optimum semi-active control with a limited number of magneto-rheological (MR) dampers and measurement sensors has certain requirements. Most important of them is the accurate estimation of control forces developed in the MR dampers from the observations made in the structure. Therefore, the observation strategy should form an integral part of the optimization problem. The existing literature on the subject does not address this issue properly. The paper presents a computationally efficient optimization scheme for semi-active control of partially observed building frames using a limited number of MR dampers and sensors for earthquakes. The control scheme duly incorporates the locations of measurement sensors as variables into the genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization problem. A ten-storied building frame is taken as an illustrative example. The optimum control strategy utilizes two well-known control laws, namely, the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) with clipped optimal control and the bang-bang control to find the time histories of voltage to be applied to the MR dampers. The results of the numerical study show that the proposed scheme of sensor placement provides the optimum reduction of response with more computational efficiency. Second, optimal locations of sensors vary with the response quantities to be controlled, the nature of earthquake, and the control algorithm. Third, optimal locations of MR dampers are invariant of the response quantities to be controlled and the nature of earthquake.