Seismic Protection of Nonlinear Coupled Bridge Systems Using Semi-active Dampers

Abstract

Under strong ground excitation, a bridge may experience inelastic deformation induced by hysteretic behavior at a plastic hinge of a pier and pounding between the two decks. In this study, the semi-active control strategy using the clipped optimal control algorithm is extended to control a nonlinear coupled bridge system. The nonlinearity caused by plastic deformation of piers is considered in analysis, and the effectiveness of the clipped optimal control is presented.