Database for Structural Control and Monitoring Benchmark Problems

Tremendous progress has been made over the last two decades toward making structural monitoring and control a viable technology for enhancing structural functionality and safety against natural hazards such as strong earthquakes and high winds. Over the years, many algorithms and devices have been investigated, each with its own merits, depending on the particular application and desired effect. Until recently, definitive studies demonstrating the pros and cons of the different approaches have been unavailable. Clearly, the ability to make direct comparisons between strategies employing various algorithms and devices is necessary to focus future efforts in the most promising directions and to effectively set performance goals and specifications. Since 1995, several benchmark problems have been proposed by the structural control and monitoring communities (within the ASCE Committee on Structural Control and the IASCM Task Groups on Structural Control and on Structural Health Monitoring) to evaluate the relative effectiveness and implementability of various algorithms and to provide an analytical testbed for evaluation of various control design issues. These benchmark problems are collected here for the research community to download and use.