A Critical Review on Control Strategies for Structural Vibration Control

In recent years, the application of structural control strategies to attenuate the dynamic response of civil engineering structures subjected to human-induced and environmental loads has once again received much attention. The hardware involved in providing effective control, the stochastic nature of the dynamic excitation, the number of distinct variables required to determine the dissipating forces, and the nature of the control approach are a few of the parameters involved in determining the efficacy of structural control systems. However, the primary parameter to determine the overall performance of a smart adaptive structure is the implementation of a control algorithm that would conveniently counteract the external known and/or unknown excitation by providing additional force input through control devices. The control algorithm to be adopted should be robust, multi-purpose, and simple to design and implement. Moreover, the control algorithm should provide the flexibility in selecting performance objectives for a holistically effective response reduction. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive review of control algorithms implemented in structural control engineering. This article first provides an overview of the fundamental concepts pertaining to the vibration control of structures subjected to dynamic excitations. Next, an exhaustive review of different types of control algorithms that feed the input signal to active-type control devices is conducted. Thereafter, important benchmark applications in the field of structural control in civil engineering are presented. Finally, conclusions are presented on the advantages and drawbacks of each control strategy and recommendations are presented for further research in this area.