Application of a fuzzy controller to seismically excited nonlinear buildings

Focuses on the benchmark control problems for seismically excited nonlinear buildings defined by Ohtori et al. (2000). This benchmark study focuses on three typical steel structures, 3-, 9- and 20-storey buildings designed for the SAC project for Los Angeles in the California region. The first stage of applying the fuzzy controller to this benchmark study for the 3-storey building is reported. The main advantage of the fuzzy controller is its inherent robustness and ability to handle the non-linear behaviour of the structure. This benchmark study is based on a number of evaluation criteria and control constraints and these limitations are considered in the design of the fuzzy controller. The performance of the controller is validated through the computer simulation on MATLAB. The results of the simulation show a good performance of the fuzzy controller to reduce the response of the building under different earthquake excitations