Active control of the seismic response of structures by combined use of base isolation and absorbing boundaries

The relative advantages of several control strategies to reduce the seismic response of multi‐storey structures are studied. The strategies involve the separate or combined use of passive base isolation mechanisms and active control forces. The base isolation mechanism is modelled as an equivalent linear soft storey with high damping. The active control forces are selected so that an absorbing boundary is obtained at the top of the structure and non‐reflecting or reflecting boundaries are obtained at the base of the building. It is found that the best results are obtained when a passive base isolation system is combined with an active absorbing boundary placed at the top of the building. However, the incremental gains resulting from adding a base isolation system to a structure already controlled by a roof‐top active absorbing boundary are significant only for relatively soft base isolation systems. Also, the incremental gains appear to decrease as the number of storeys of the structure increases.