Structural damage mitigation using a fuzzy controller

Seismic design of buildings for elastic behavior is a major challenge in civil engineering field. The economic requirements imply that in general the structural elements dissipate earthquake induced energy through plastic deformations. This means that certain level of structural damage must be accepted. The main objective of this paper is the mitigation of seismic structural response, using a fuzzy controller, with the aim to maintain an elastic behavior throughout an entire seismic event. In this regard, a finite element plane frame model was constructed and simulated using the Force Analogy Method together with the State Space formulation. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the structural response with and without control implementation was carried out. The results illustrate the efficiency of the fuzzy controller.