This project concerns research, development, design and implementation of a large-scale active control structural system. Considerable analytical and experimental works have been carried out in active control of civil engineering structures under environmental loads over the past 20 years, and now the progress is such that large-scale implementation is feasible. Full-scale prototype systems have been built and tested in Japan in recent years, but no full-scale research and state-of- the-art system of this important new technology in the U.S. has been developed to date. The proposed system comprises a 150- foot high tower research structure to be assembled at the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. The tower will be capable of dynamic excitations by (i) simulated earthquakes, (ii) natural winds, and (iii) other types of motions by mechanical means. The design will be flexible, permitting the dynamic properties and control configuration of the tower to be varied for research use, and will incorporate features to enable state-of-the-art active control techniques to be developed and tested. The project will be carried out by a collaborative industrial and academic based research team.
