Abstract: An optimal control method for seismic-excited building structures with multiple time delays is investigated in this paper. The system state equation with multiple time delays is discretized and transformed into a standard discrete form without any explicit time delay by a particular augmenting for state variables. A time-delay controller is then designed based on this standard equation using the discrete optimal control method. Effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by numerical simulations. Simulation results indicate that a very small time delay may result in the instability of the control system if it is not compensated in the control design. Time delay may be compensated effectively by the proposed controller, in the mean time, an effective control may be obtained. The proposed controller is valid for both small and large time delays.

Key words: building structures, active control, multiple time delays