LQG control of lateral-torsional motion of Nanjing TV transmission tower

The 310 m Nanjing TV transmission tower in China will be installed with an active mass driver on the upper observation deck in order to reduce the acc eleration responses under strong wind gusts. This paper presents the linear -quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) control strategy using acceleration feedback to r educe the tower responses under coupled lateral-torsional motion. Emphasis is placed on the practical applications, such as the limitations on actuato r peak force and stroke, limited number of sensors, etc. The along- and acr oss-wind components of the wind velocity are defined by the cross-power spe ctra. In the simulation analysis, both deterministic and stochastic approac hes have been used, and the power spectral density, rms values and peak val ues of response quantities have been computed. Comparisons of the responses of the TV tower due to wind loads from different angles of attack have bee n made. Simulation results demonstrate that (i) the performance of the acti ve mass driver using the LQG control strategy is remarkable in reducing cou pled lateral-torsional motions of the tower, and (ii) the LQG strategy is r obust with respect to uncertainties in the angle of attack of wind loads. T he LQG strategy is suitable for the full-scale implementation of active mas s driver on Naming Tower. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.