Modelling, placing and controlling active elements in structural engineering design

The paper is concerned with the use of actively-controlled elements in civil engineering structures. The structural modelling uses a representation which permits easy incorporation of one or more controlled actuators, and different forms of model are introduced which relate to the practicalities of structural design. A novel technique for placing the actuators is described, based upon optimal control theory, which enables a ranking table to be generated for the various positions within a structure where an actuator or actuators can be placed, and the effectiveness of this ranking is validated by simulation results on an example structure.