A Real-Time Hybrid Testing Method Based on Partial Restart Loading Technology

The computational delay is a key problem in real-time hybrid testing (RTHT). The restart loading technique provides the possibility for nonreal-time numerical calculation of RTHT. However, the RTHT based on restart loading technique (RTHT-RLT) requires the experimental substructure to return to the initial state for overall reloading, which requires a significant time cost. To solve this problem, a new RTHT based on partial restart loading technology (RTHT-PRLT) is proposed in this paper. The proposed method carries out partial restart loading in a time-increasing way to reveal the mechanical performance of the experimental substructure accurately and efficiently. First, the RTHT-PRLT is proposed. Furthermore, the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method are verified through numerical simulations and experimental tests on a three-story frame structure, modeled by refined finite elements, with a viscous damper. The results of simulation and experiment show that when the number of restart loading steps of the RTHT-PRLT is 50 steps, the viscous damper obtains the same mechanical state quantities as those in the RTHT-RLT. Meanwhile, the experimental efficiency of RTHT-PRLT is more than 50% higher than that of RTHT-RLT.