Active structural control of inelastic response is proposed for the first time on existing buildings. The optimal linear control theory and the force analogy method are combined in state space form to calculate the response of the structure. Application of this combined method is performed to reduce the risk of weld failure in steel buildings. A six-story moment resisting building damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake is used to study the sensitivity of the response and the magnitude of the structural control force to the earthquake ground motion. The limit state approach is used to design the structural control system by limiting the maximum plastic rotations in the building to an acceptable level. In the process, structural control is shown to be very effective in reducing the plastic rotations during excitations, and therefore reducing the risk of weld failure. In addition, structural control is effective in reducing the responses, which include displacement, velocity, acceleration and drift of the structure.
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