Development of a controller platform for force-based real-time hybrid simulation

Force-based real-time hybrid simulation is a seismic experimental method that combines physical testing using shake tables and dynamic actuators with numerical analysis. The unique aspect of this force-based formulation is that various hybrid simulation techniques, such as dynamic, pseudo-dynamic, and quasi-dynamic testing, can be similarly executed. To implement such a method, the hardware components and the corresponding software were designed and integrated into a modular controller platform. This article focuses on the implementation issues of such formulation. A pilot scale setup was assembled to conduct proof of concept experiments of the controller platform and is presented herein.