Passively controlled MR damper in the benchmark structural control problem for seismically excited highway bridge

In this paper, we propose a simple control approach to produce negative stiffness hysteretic loops for the response control of base-isolated bridges. The combination of hysteretic loops of the controller with those of the bearing results in virtually rigid perfectly plastic force–deformation characteristics possessing large damping ratio without transmitting excessive force to other structural members. The proposed approach has the potential to be implemented as a passive approach. In this paper, the application of this approach for the response control of the benchmark structural control problem for seismically excited highway bridge has been presented.