Semi-active structural control with variable friction dampers

Discusses a methodology of semi-active structural control using a variable friction damper. In the presented algorithm only the slipping level of the friction damper is controlled in response to the first modal coordinate. More specifically, the target constant ductility factor with respect to the first modal response is to be maintained by controlling the slipping level within each hysteresis loop. The effectiveness of the proposed semi-active control is demonstrated both by means of computer simulations and scale model experiments