A study on a benchmark control problem for real-time hybrid simulation with a tracking error-based adaptive compensator combined with a supplementary proportional-integral-derivative controller

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is a reliable and cost-effective testing technique to evaluate the dynamic response of a structural system, especially when the system includes rate-dependent components. Numerous studies suggest that the stability and accuracy of a RTHS are governed by the tracking errors between the calculated displacements and measured displacements during the test. In this study, frequency domain-based error indicators were designed to quantify the tracking errors in real-time. Consequently, an adaptive two degree-of-freedom phase-lead compensator was introduced to cancel out the identified tracking errors. Additionally, a proportional-integral-derivative controller was included as a supplement to further improve the tracking performance. The details of how to design the combined outer-loop controller were provided. A benchmark control problem in RTHS was used to assess the performance and robustness of the designed controller by carrying out a series of virtual RTHS (vRTHS), where different force excitations, partitioning configurations, and plant uncertainties were considered in MATLAB Simulink. Nine evaluation criteria were used to quantify the results of the vRTHS in this study. As a result, the proposed combined outer-loop controller was shown to be effective and robust to provide good stability and accuracy in RTHS. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.