A real-time estimation scheme for buildings with intelligent dissipation devices

A real-time estimation scheme for the parameters and the state of a shear multi-degree-of-freedom building with an energy-dissipating device is presented. The design follows standard Lyapunov's theory and exploits the bilinear structure of the mathematical model to construct an adaptation law for the parameters and an observer for the model states. A sufficient condition for stability is given via a linear matrix inequality. The design is illustrated with an example of a three-story building with a magneto-rheological damper. The observer is able to estimate the system's state (displacements and velocities) through the measurement of floor acceleration and damper's force, without the precise knowledge of the parameters. Simulation results confirm that the state and output estimation errors approach zero.