Developed comparative analysis of metaheuristic optimization algorithms for optimal active control of structures

A developed comparative analysis of metaheuristic optimization algorithms has been used for optimal active control of structures. The linear quadratic regulator (LQR) has ignored the external excitation in solving the Riccati equation with no sufficient optimal results. To enhance the efficiency of LQR and overcome the non-optimality problem, six intelligent optimization methods including BAT, BEE, differential evolution, firefly, harmony search and imperialist competitive algorithm have been discretely added to wavelet-based LQR to seek the attained optimum feedback gains. The proposed approach has not required the solution of Riccati equation enabling the excitation effect in controlling process. Employing this advantage by each of six mentioned algorithms to three-story and eight-story structures under different earthquakes led to define (1) the best solution, (2) convergence rate and (3) computational effort of all methods. The purpose of this research is to study the aforementioned methods besides the superiority of ICA in finding the optimal responses for active control problem. Numerical simulations have confirmed that the proposed controller is enabling to significantly reduce the structural responses using less control energy compared to LQR.