Feedback control of a mansory vault

Ancient buildings need sometimes the supply of reinforcing structures; srrzart linkage systems between old and new timbers can then provide for the necessary flexibility in view of partly indeterminate load conditions. The design of active reinforcements requires, in particular. the choice of a control policy. Predictions based on available mathematical models being not reliable enough, output feedback generated controls must eventually be used. Problems of non-linearity and of controllability, due to control constraints, arise. The vault of the Maggior Corzsiglio Hall in the Duke's Palace of Genoa, though presently supported by an auxiliary truss, undergoes relatively large displacements probably due to temperature variations: the use of stiffer links to reduce these displacements may result into high thermal stresses. This problem will be studied here as an example to design a control system. A numerical model of the structure is proposed. and a performance function is considered; a feedback loop is designed and the corresponding algorithm is given. Results show the feasibility of the method.