Vibration serviceability evaluation on decentralised H robust control of MTMDs of a slender MDOF floor configuration

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamic performance and vibration serviceability enhancement of a reconfigurable test-bed floor panel structure subjected to human-induced vibrations. A novel robust H control approach for multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) systems is proposed and validated using a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) prototype in a controlled full-scale laboratory environment. The experimental setup incorporates human jumping-induced vibrations integrated with disturbance noise generated by a shaker to simulate realistic excitation scenarios. Four distinct test cases were conducted to evaluate the system's vibration mitigation performance and structural resilience. The vibration service-ability improvement was assessed through three criteria: the VC curve approach, comfort index calculations, and a novel Bayesian-based bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) regression framework. These methodologies provided a comprehensive evaluation of the test-bed structure's response, ensuring robust conclusions about the effectiveness of the proposed vibration control strategies. The results demonstrate the significant potential of the robust H control methods and 2DOF MTMD systems in mitigating vibrations in lightweight structural configurations, enhancing occupant comfort and structural integrity. This research contributes to the advancement of vibration serviceability solutions for modern structures and highlights the critical role of combining analytical approaches with experimental validation. The findings pave the way for more resilient and vibration-tolerant designs in civil engineering applications.