• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.809-828
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• 2008

Real-time hybrid testing is an attractive method to evaluate the response of structures under earthquake loads. The method is a variation of the pseudodynamic testing technique in which the experiment is executed in real time, thus allowing investigation of structural systems with time-dependent components. Real-time hybrid testing is challenging because it requires performance of all calculations, application of displacements, and acquisition of measured forces, within a very small increment of time. Furthermore, unless appropriate compensation for time delays and actuator time lag is implemented, stability problems are likely to occur during the experiment. This paper presents an approach for real-time hybrid testing in which time delay/lag compensation is implemented using model-based response prediction. The efficacy of the proposed strategy is verified by conducting substructure real-time hybrid testing of a steel frame under earthquake loads. For the initial set of experiments, a specimen with linear-elastic behavior is used. Experimental results agree well with the analytical solution and show that the proposed approach and testing system are capable of achieving a time-scale expansion factor of one (i.e., real time). Additionally, the proposed method allows accurate testing of structures with larger frequencies than when using conventional time delay compensation methods, thus extending the capabilities of the real-time hybrid testing technique. The method is then used to test a structure with a rate-dependent energy dissipation device, a magnetorheological damper. Results show good agreement with the predicted responses, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method to test rate-dependent components.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.648-654
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• 2007

This paper presents the result of a comparison study to evaluate the performance of several semi-active control algorithms for use with large-scale MR damper applied to a building structure under seismic excitation using real-time hybrid test method. Recently, a variety of semi-active control algorithm studies are developed and generally evaluated the performance by using numerical analysis. In this paper real-time hybrid test method was applied to performance evaluating of semi-active control algorithms including a clipped optimal algorithm and the modulated homogeneous friction algorithm.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.253-259
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• 2018

Structure behaviors resulting from an earthquake are experimentally simulated mainly through a shaking table test. As for large-scale structures, however, size effects over a miniature may make it difficult to assess actual behaviors properly. To address this problem, research on the hybrid simulation is being conducted actively. This method is to implement numerical analysis on framework members that affect the general behavior of the structure dominantly through an actual scale experiment and on the rest parts by applying the substructuring technique. However, existing studies on hybrid simulation focus mainly on Slow experimental methods, which are disadvantageous in that it is unable to assess behaviors close to the actual level if material properties change depending on the speed or the influence of inertial force is significant. The present study aims to establish a Real-time hybrid simulation system capable of excitation based on the actual time history and to verify its performance and applicability. The hybrid simulation system built up in this study utilizes the ATS Compensator system, CR integrator, etc. in order to make the target displacement the same with the measured displacement on the basis of MATLAB/Simulink. The target structure was a 2-span bridge and an RC pier to support it was produced as an experimental model in order for the shaking table test and Slow and Real-time hybrid simulations. Behaviors that result from the earthquake of El Centro were examined, and the results were analyzed comparatively. In comparison with the results of the shaking table test, the Real-time hybrid simulation produced more similar maximum displacement and vibration behaviors than the Slow hybrid simulation. Hence, it is thought that the Real-time hybrid simulation proposed in this study can be utilized usefully in seismic capacity assessment of structural systems such as RC pier that are highly non-linear and time-dependent.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.11-24
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• 2011

A real-time hybrid test of a 3 story-3 bay reinforced concrete frame which is divided into numerical and physical substructure models under uniaxial earthquake excitation was run using a fixed iteration implicit HHT time integration method. The first story inner non-ductile column was selected as the physical substructure model, and uniaxial earthquake excitation was applied to the numerical model until the specimen failed due to severe damage. A finite-element analysis program, Mercury, was newly developed and optimized for a real-time hybrid test. The drift ratio based on the top horizontal displacement of the physical substructure model was compared with the result of a numerical simulation by OpenSees and the result of a shaking table test. The experiment in this paper is one of the most complex real-time hybrid tests, and the description of the hardware, algorithm and models is presented in detail. If there is an improvement in the numerical model, the evaluation of the tangent stiffness matrix of the physical substructure model in the finite element analysis program and better software to reduce the computational time of the element state determination for the force-based beam-column element, then the comparison with the results of the real-time hybrid test and the shaking table test deserves to make a recommendation. In addition, for the goal of a "Numerical simulation of the complex structures under dynamic loading", the real time hybrid test has enough merit as an alternative to dynamic experiments of large and complex structures.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.443-453
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• 2013

The hybrid test is one of the most advanced test methods to predict the structural dynamic behavior with the interaction between a physical substructure and a numerical modeling in the hybrid control system. The purpose of this study is to perform the multi-directional dynamic test of a steel frame structure with the real-time hybrid system and to evaluate the validation of the results. In this study, FEAPH, nonlinear finite element analysis program for hybrid only, was developed and the hybrid control system was optimized. The inefficient computational time was improved with a fixed number iteration method and parallel computational techniques used in FEAPH. Furthermore, the previously used data communication method and the interface between a substructure and an analysis program were simplified in the control system. As the results, the total processing time in real-time hybrid test was shortened up to 10 times of actual measured seismic period. In order to verify the accuracy and validation of the hybrid system, the linear and nonlinear dynamic tests with a steel framed structure were carried out so that the trend of displacement responses was almost in accord with the numerical results. However, the maximum displacement responses had somewhat differences due to the analysis errors in material nonlinearities and the occurrence of permanent displacements. Therefore, if the proper material model and numerical algorithms are developed, the real-time hybrid system could be used to evaluate the structural dynamic behavior and would be an effective testing method as a substitute for a shaking table test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.655-660
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• 2007

This paper presents real-time hybrid test method of large-scale MR damper applied to a building structure under seismic excitation. The real-time hybrid test using an actuator for the control performance evaluation of a MR damper controlling the response of earthquake-excited building structure is experimentally implemented. In the test, the building structure is used as a numerical part, on which a large-scale MR damper adopted as an experimental part was installed to reduce its response. At first, the force that is acting between a MR damper and building structure is measured from the load cell attached on the actuator system and is fed-back to the computer to control the motion of the actuator. Then, the actuator is so driven that the error between the interface displacement computed from the numerical building structure with the excitations of earthquake and the fed-back interface force and that measured from the actuator. The control efficiency of the MR damper used in this paper is experimentally confirmed by implementing this process of experiment on real-time.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.131-138
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• 2008

This paper presents real-time hybrid test method of large-scale MR damper applied to a building structure under seismic excitation. The real-time hybrid test using an actuator for the control performance evaluation of a MR damper controlling the response of earthquake-excited building structure is experimentally implemented. In the test, the building structure is used as a numerical part, on which a large-scale MR damper adopted as an experimental part was installed to reduce its response. At first, the force that is acting between a MR damper and building structure is measured from the load cell attached on the actuator system and is fed-back to the computer to control the motion of the actuator. Then, the actuator is so driven that the error between the interface displacement computed from the numerical building structure with the excitations of earthquake and the fed-back interface force and that measured from the actuator. The control efficiency of the MR damper used in this paper is experimentally confirmed by implementing this process of experiment on real-time.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.5 s.51
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• pp.99-106
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• 2006

The Real-Time Hybrid Test system presented in this paper is based on the pseudodynamic test method, and it combines physical testing with model-based simulation. The system is designed to achieve a rate of loading that is significantly higher than that of a conventional pseudodynamic test approaching the real-time response of a structure subjected to earthquake loads. To provide robust computation environment for the analysis of many degree-of-freedom structures, the system adopts an implicit time integration scheme in the model-based simulation. This paper presents an overview of the developed system and numerical simulations that were conducted to evaluate the performance of the computation scheme adopted here. Results of these studies have demonstrated the good performance of the computation scheme for real-time multiple-degree-of-freedom tests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.669-673
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• 2007

In this study, real-time hybrid test using a shaking table for the control performance evaluation of a U-shaped TLCD controlling the response of earthquake-excited building structure is experimentally implemented. In the test, the building structure is used as a numerical part, on which a U-shaped TLCD adopted as an experimental part was installed to reduceits response. At first, the force that is acting between a TLCD and building structure is measured from the load cell attached on shaking table and is fed-back to the computer to control the motion of shaking table. Then, the shaking table is so driven that the error between the interface acceleration computed from the numerical building structure with the excitations of earthquake and the fed-back interface force and that measured from the shaking table. The control efficiency of the TLCD used in this paper is experimentally confirmed by implementing this process of shaking table experiment on real-time.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.437-454
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• 2023

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS), which has the advantages of a substructure pseudo-dynamic test, is widely used to investigate the rate-dependent mechanical response of structures under earthquake excitation. However, time delay in RTHS can cause inaccurate results and experimental instabilities. Thus, this study proposes a model-based adaptive control strategy using a Kalman filter (KF) to minimize the time delay and improve RTHS stability and accuracy. In this method, the adaptive control strategy consists of three parts-a feedforward controller based on the discrete inverse model of a servohydraulic actuator and physical specimen, a parameter estimator using the KF, and a feedback controller. The KF with the feedforward controller can significantly reduce the variable time delay due to its fast convergence and high sensitivity to the error between the desired displacement and the measured one. The feedback control can remedy the residual time delay and minimize the method's dependence on the inverse model, thereby improving the robustness of the proposed control method. The tracking performance and parametric studies are conducted using the benchmark problem in RTHS. The results reveal that better tracking performance can be obtained, and the KF's initial settings have limited influence on the proposed strategy. Virtual RTHSs are conducted with linear and nonlinear physical substructures, respectively, and the results indicate brilliant tracking performance and superb robustness of the proposed method.