Unified Formulation for Real Time Dynamic Hybrid Testing

This paper proposes a unified formulation for Real time dynamic hybrid testing (RTDHT), which is a structural seismic response simulation method combining the numerical simulation of the

computational substructure

and the physical testing of the

experimental substructure

. By introducing a set of splitting coefficient matrices to the general equation of motion of the structural model subjected to investigation, various seismic testing methods can be formulated, including real time pseudo-dynamic substructure testing, effective force testing and shake table testing. This paper first reviews the seismic testing methods currently used in earthquake engineering with a brief introduction about the RTDHT. Then the unified formulation is presented with a detailed discussion of the splitting coefficient matrices. Hardware components necessary to implement the unified formulation RTDHT are integrated into a unified test platform. While a number of tests were performed in medium scale, a small-scale pilot setup was used in the verification tests. Test results which validated the concept of the proposed unified formulation and the feasibility of the corresponding platform for RTDHS are discussed at last.