On the development of a digital twin for the active vibration control of a three-storey structure

In this paper, a representative three-storey building structure is utilised as a case study for the development of a digital twin that is used for control in dynamics applications. The structure is subject to an earthquake-like excitation and the control action is provided by an inertial actuator. Firstly, low and high fidelity physics-based models are created to determine the behaviour of the structure. Secondly, experimental tests are carried out, and the discrepancies between the model and experimental data are measured. At this stage a digital twin framework offers opportunities to assign or infer model parameters with nominal, bounded or distributed values, as well as the addition of data-based components to further increase the validity of model predictions. Finally, two representative active control algorithms are investigated for the vibration attenuation, specifically using a linear-quadratic Gaussian regulator and a direct velocity feedback controller. The control strategies are compared not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of robustness.