H2 active vibration control for offshore platform subjected to wave loading

Offshore platforms are usually located in hostile environments. These platforms undergo excessive vibrations due to wave loads for both normal operating and extreme conditions. To ensure safety, the displacements of the platforms need to be limited, whereas for the comfort of people who work at the structures, accelerations also need to be restricted. This article is devoted to developing a proper procedure on applying H2 control algorithm for controlling the lateral vibration of a jacket-type offshore platform by using an active mass damper. In comparison with earlier studies, a number of improvements in problem formulation, wave force filter design, and control algorithm implementation are made. The present paper also numerically demonstrated the effectiveness of H2 active control. As expected, it significantly outperforms the corresponding passive control that uses a tuned mass damper.