Identification of Bouc–Wen hysteretic systems by a hybrid evolutionary algorithm

A new identification method that determines the parameters of Bouc–Wen hysteretic systems is presented. It is based on a hybrid evolutionary algorithm which utilizes selected stochastic operators, heuristics and problem-specific information. The proposed method exhibits efficiency, robustness and insensitivity to noise-corrupted data, while it identifies accurately both hysteretic and viscous damping based on suitable experiments. Its performance is investigated with respect to the information content of the input–output data. The scheme is verified by a hysteretic system representing a full-scale steel cantilever beam which is identified successfully. A series of parametric studies are also conducted that illustrate the inner workings of the proposed method, suggesting appropriate values for the controlling parameters.