Abstract:
The paper proposes an aseismic hybrid control system to control the response of structures subjected to
large ground motions caused by large magnitude earthquakes. The proposed hybrid control system
consists of a base isolation system (laminated rubber bearings) connected to an active control system
(a tuned mass damper and an actuator). The base isolation system is used to decouple the horizontal
ground motions from the structure, whereas the active control system is used to protect the safety and
integrity of the base isolation system. A 5-story benchmark building model is developed to study the
effectiveness of the hybrid control system against different ground motions. It was found from the
numerical results that rubber bearing system alone shows good performance and resists ground motion
due to Hachinohe 1968, Kobe 1995, and Northridge 1994 earthquakes, but is somewhat unable to
protect the model against El-Centro 194() earthquake. After the installation of an active control system
onto the rubber-isolated model, further improvements to earthquake resistance against these four
earthquakes were observed, especially against the El-Centro earthquake. The merit of the hybrid
control system lies in its capability to protect against different ground motions, with varying intensity
and frequency content.
