Magnetorheological Dampers for Earthquake Mitigation: A System Engineering Perspective

The viability of exploiting magneto-rheological (MR) dampers for earthquake protection of structures has been investigated. A MR damper requires low electrical power and is inherently fail-safe, as it reverts to standard passive viscous damper, in case of electric failure. Moreover, a variety of techniques and control algorithms have been applied over years to control the structural seismic response. Those include some active mass dampers, friction dampers and resorting to variable stiffness control. Controlled friction forces can be effectively used to limit the building response to the earthquake. Friction pendulum systems are commonly used to provide base isolation to seismic excitation.