A user-programmable computational/control platform was developed at the University of Toronto that offers real-time hybrid simulation （RTHS） capabilities. The platform was verified previously using several linear ph...A user-programmable computational/control platform was developed at the University of Toronto that offers real-time hybrid simulation （RTHS） capabilities. The platform was verified previously using several linear physical substructures. The study presented in this paper is focused on further validating the RTHS platform using a nonlinear viscoelastic-plastic damper that has displacement, frequency and temperature-dependent properties. The validation study includes damper component characterization tests, as well as RTHS of a series of single-degree-of-freedom （SDOF） systems equipped with viscoelastic-plastic dampers that represent different structural designs. From the component characterization tests, it was found that for a wide range of excitation frequencies and friction slip loads, the tracking errors are comparable to the errors in RTHS of linear spring systems. The hybrid SDOF results are compared to an independently validated thermal- mechanical viscoelastic model to further validate the ability for the platform to test nonlinear systems. After the validation, as an application study, nonlinear SDOF hybrid tests were used to develop performance spectra to predict the response of structures equipped with damping systems that are more challenging to model analytically. The use of the experimental performance spectra is illustrated by comparing the predicted response to the hybrid test response of 2DOF systems equipped with viscoelastic-plastic dampers.展开更多
基金NSERC Discovery under Grant 371627-2009 and NSERC RTI under Grant 374707-2009 EQPEQ programs
文摘A user-programmable computational/control platform was developed at the University of Toronto that offers real-time hybrid simulation （RTHS） capabilities. The platform was verified previously using several linear physical substructures. The study presented in this paper is focused on further validating the RTHS platform using a nonlinear viscoelastic-plastic damper that has displacement, frequency and temperature-dependent properties. The validation study includes damper component characterization tests, as well as RTHS of a series of single-degree-of-freedom （SDOF） systems equipped with viscoelastic-plastic dampers that represent different structural designs. From the component characterization tests, it was found that for a wide range of excitation frequencies and friction slip loads, the tracking errors are comparable to the errors in RTHS of linear spring systems. The hybrid SDOF results are compared to an independently validated thermal- mechanical viscoelastic model to further validate the ability for the platform to test nonlinear systems. After the validation, as an application study, nonlinear SDOF hybrid tests were used to develop performance spectra to predict the response of structures equipped with damping systems that are more challenging to model analytically. The use of the experimental performance spectra is illustrated by comparing the predicted response to the hybrid test response of 2DOF systems equipped with viscoelastic-plastic dampers.
