Real-time hybrid simulation 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 rate-dependent components. Real-time hybrid simulation 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 actuator dynamics is implemented, stability problems are likely to occur during the experiment. This paper presents an approach for real-time hybrid simulation in which compensation for actuator dynamics is implemented using a model-based feedforward compensator. The method is used to evaluate the response of a semi-active control of a structure employing an MR damper. Experimental results show good agreement with the predicted responses, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method for structural control performance assessment.
Summary
Interstory isolation systems have recently gained popularity as an alternative for seismic protection, especially in densely populated areas. In inter‐story isolation, the isolation system is incorporated between stories instead of the base of the structure. Installing inter‐story isolation is simple, inexpensive, and disruption free in retrofit applications. Benefits include nominally independent structural systems where the accelerations of the added floors are reduced when compared to a conventional structural system. Furthermore, the base shear demand on the total structure is not significantly increased. Practical applications of inter‐story isolation have appeared in the United States, Japan, and China, and likewise new design validation techniques are needed to parallel growing interest. Real‐time hybrid simulation (RTHS) offers an alternative to investigate the performance of buildings with inter‐story isolation. Shake tables, standard equipment in many laboratories, are capable of providing the interface boundary conditions necessary for this application of RTHS. The substructure below the isolation layer can be simulated numerically while the superstructure above the isolation layer can be tested experimentally. This configuration provides a high‐fidelity representation of the nonlinearities in the isolation layer, including any supplemental damping devices. This research investigates the seismic performance of a 14‐story building with inter‐story isolation. A model‐based acceleration‐tracking approach is adopted to control the shake table, exhibiting good offline and online acceleration tracking performance. The proposed methods demonstrate that RTHS is an accurate and reliable means to investigate buildings with inter‐story isolation, including new configurations and supplemental control approaches.
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