RESEARCH ARTICLE Semiactive conceptual fuzzy control of magnetorheological dampers in an irregular base‐isolated benchmark building optimized by multi‐objective genetic algorithm Behnam Mehrkian 1 | Arash Bahar 2 | Ali Chaibakhsh 3 1 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Bauhaus University Weimar, Weimar, Germany 2 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran 3 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran Correspondence Behnam Mehrkian, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Bauhaus University Weimar, Weimar, Germany. Email: behnam.mehrkian.jorshari@uni‐ weimar.de Summary Seismic base isolations are well‐established passive control systems, used for reducing structural responses and preventing interior sensitive equipment and nonstructural elements from damaging. However, in a base‐isolated struc- ture under near‐fault earthquakes, isolated layers sustain large displacements that might not be allowable. Further, any passive limitation in these displace- ments amplifies vibration transmissions to the superstructure. Smart hybrid base isolations using magnetorheological (MR) dampers, as well‐known semiactive devices, can overcome this problem by smart dampening. Nonethe- less, highly nonlinear hysteretic behavior of MR dampers is one of the chal- lenges for model‐based control algorithms. In this study, a smart multi‐ objective fuzzy‐genetic control for dampening the vibrations of structures in an irregular base‐isolated benchmark building subjected to different earth- quake scenarios is presented. The control aims, on one hand, to conserve (or even improve) top isolation characteristics in unique restraining of floor accel- erations and drifts and, on the other hand, to mitigate large base displacements under near‐fault earthquakes using MR dampers simultaneously. Unlike many smart controls with a black‐box performance, the proposed fuzzy core is con- structed conceptually employing control expertise with respect to the plant. To achieve control objectives, a conceptual innovative feedback is proposed for fuzzy decision making. To optimize this human‐designed controller, a multi‐objective genetic algorithm is applied. For evaluation, a three‐ dimensional nonlinear irregular base‐isolated benchmark building planned by the American Society of Civil Engineers is employed. In comparison with classical and smart controls, the results demonstrate that despite having the smallest structure with fast performance, the proposed control effectively diminishes conflicting responses and has better performance than other controls. KEYWORDS base‐isolated building, fuzzy control, innovative feedback, MR dampers, multi‐objective GA, vibration transmissions Received: 16 December 2017 Revised: 26 September 2018 Accepted: 10 November 2018 DOI: 10.1002/stc.2302 Struct Control Health Monit. 2018;e2302. https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2302 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/stc 1 of 28