Distributed ATMD for Buffeting Control of Cable-Stayed Bridges Under Construction

This paper is concerned with mitigating multimode buffeting of cable-stayed bridges by optimizing the placements of active tuned mass dampers (ATMDs) and sensors and developing a control model and schemes. The Third Nanjing Bridge over the Yangtze River was used to formulate a mathematical control model with distributed ATMDs under wind action. Hankel norms were combined with structural mode analysis to build placement indices of the ATMDs and sensors under a defined objective while considering the influence of exterior excitation. A selection index of modes was proposed. ATMD/sensor placement on the Third Nanjing Bridge and mode selection were simulated to determine the wind response control. A control design model with accurate mode selection was developed using modal superposition and it was used to investigate control schemes of distributed ATMDs for buffeting response control of the cable-stayed bridge. The results showed that the dynamic characteristics of the developed control design model agreed well with those of the original system model. Control scheme selection depends on the tradeoff between the control objective and actuator performance. Considering realistic engineering constraints, the distributed ATMDs are shown to perform well.