Hybrid Testing Based on Multi‐Task Restart Loading Technology

ABSTRACT The hybrid testing based on restart loading technology (HT‐RLT) was developed in recent years, which enables the refined model calculation of the numerical substructure possible for the real‐time hybrid testing (RTHT). However, for multiple experimental substructures in the RTHT, the HT‐RLT still encounters high requirement of multiple loading equipment and the technical challenges of synchronization among loading equipment. For solving this problem, a hybrid testing based on multi‐task overall restart loading technology (HT‐MORLT) is proposed in this paper. This method achieves the loading of multiple experimental substructures one by one by means of multiple rounds of overall restart technology on a single agent specimen. Furthermore, for solving the experimental duration problem, a hybrid testing based on multi‐task partial restart loading technology (HT‐MPRLT) is proposed. This method achieves the loading of multiple experimental substructures one by one by means of multiple rounds of partial restart technology on a single agent specimen. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed HT‐MORLT and HT‐MPRLT are verified through numerical simulations and experiments on one three‐story steel frame structure equipped with three viscous dampers. The numerical and experimental results show that both the HT‐MORLT and the HT‐MPRLT can achieve high‐precision loading and reset‐waiting operations for multiple experimental substructures. The correlation coefficients under all working conditions are above 96%, indicating that the two methods have high experimental accuracy. Moreover, the results also show that the HT‐MPRLT can effectively improve the experimental efficiency by 50% compared to the HT‐MORLT.