Recent Advances on Smart Materials and Devices for Vibration Control of Structures

Dear Colleagues,

The vibration control of civil structures subjected to dynamic effects induced by wind and seismic loads becomes a critical issue regarding both safety and economic concerns. However, in the case of mechanical structures (machines or structures more in general), such structural monitoring is essential for condition-based maintenance (CBM) activities in industries.

Smart materials, high-performance devices, and new approaches to health monitoring based on data analysis, machine learning, and AI have been studied by a host of investigators, developing a variety of approaches for preventing structural damage and controlling vibrations, especially for civil and mechanical engineering structures.

This Special Issue aims to share the latest knowledge and innovative applications regarding the passive, active, semi-active, and hybrid vibrational control of structures subjected to dynamic loading, due to wind and earthquakes such as buildings and bridges. Passive systems include base isolation systems (BISs), energy dissipation systems (EDSs), tuned mass dampers (TMDs) and tuned liquid dampers (TLDs). Active control systems include active-tuned mass dampers (ATMDs) and piezoelectric actuators. Semi-active systems include a magnetorheological (MR) damper, negative stiffness devices (NSDs), a magneto-rheological damper TMD (MR-TMD), variable stiffness semi-active TMD (VS-STMD), variable damper STMD (VD-STMD), and a recentering variable friction device (RVFD). Hybrid systems include active base isolation systems and semi-active MR dampers with nonlinear base isolators. Furthermore, the current frontier of research not only regards the hybridization of various control systems but also the use of techniques for identifying and localizing damage by using cutting-edge techniques including smart sensors and artificial intelligence (AI). The latter identification procedure integrates different fields, namely computer science, data science, electronics, mechanics, material sciences, and civil engineering, which shape the foundation of the interdisciplinary field called structural health monitoring (SHM).

In this case, the problem is complex, requiring the integration of several different hardware and software technologies with structural design such as smart materials, adaptive dampers, actuators, sensors, and control and signal-processing algorithms. However, the current trend regarding the optimal use of passive systems, as well as the development and implementation of new hybrid strategies also represent a research area of huge interest.

Within this context, the novelty of this Special Issue consists of the presentation of recent advances on the modelling, design strategies, and structural applications of different systems based on the use of smart materials and high-performance devices for the control of civil and mechanical structures under dynamic effects due to wind and seismic loads.

Prof. Dr. Valentino Paolo Berardi
Prof. Dr. Alberto Maria Avossa
Prof. Dr. Marco Claudio De Simone
Guest Editors

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