Feedback Stabilization of Chain-Like MDOF Nonlinear Structural Systems Under Purely Parametric Gaussian White Noises

A feedback control method is proposed to asymptotically stabilize the chain-like multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) nonlinear structural system under purely parametric Gaussian white noises. First, the motion equation of a chain-like nonlinear structural system with [Formula: see text] coupled elements and an undetermined control law is derived. It is reduced to a one-dimensional partially averaged Itô stochastic differential equation of the controlled Hamiltonian by applying the stochastic averaging method, which bypasses the challenge of calculating multiple Lyapunov exponents. Next, based on the dynamical programming principle, the dynamical programming equation of the averaged system with an undetermined cost function is established and addressed to obtain the optimal control law. Then, the Lyapunov exponent of the completely averaged Itô equation is derived. For the given requirement of stabilizing the system, the Lyapunov exponent is entirely fixed and used to analyze the stability of the originally chain-like MDOF nonlinear structural system. A controlled chain-like 8-DOF nonlinear structural system is taken as an example to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed procedure and the effect of control forces on stabilizing the system.