Structural control with regenerative force actuation networks

Regenerative force actuation networks are groups of electromechanical force actuators that produce significant but constrained control forces, while requiring minimal external power. They differ from semiactive devices by the fact that they are capable of sharing power with one another; i.e. one device may remove energy from one location in a vibrating structure while another injects some of that energy back into the structure at a different location. These devices employ ballscrews and rotational electric machines to facilitate electromechanical power conversion. Excess energy removed from the structure is dissipated electrically in a resistor bank. This paper introduces these concepts, and presents a generalized model for an actuation system with an arbitrarily large network of actuators. The characteristics of this actuation system are discussed, accounting for energy dissipation and dynamics in the electrical network. A numerical example of the use of these devices in a structural control system is presented, in which two devices are used to control a three-storey scale-model building under earthquake loading. It is shown that the power coupling between the actuators can be used to improve the overall structural performance. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.