Comparison of delay compensation methods for real-time hybrid simulation using frequency-domain evaluation index

The delay compensation method plays an essential role in maintaining the stability and achieving accurate real-time hybrid simulation results. The effectiveness of various compensation methods in different test scenarios, however, needs to be quantitatively evaluated. In this study, four compensation methods (i.e., the polynomial extrapolation, the linear acceleration extrapolation, the inverse compensation and the adaptive inverse compensation) are selected and compared experimentally using a frequency evaluation index (FEI) method. The effectiveness of the FEI method is first verified through comparison with the discrete transfer function approach for compensation methods assuming constant delay. Incomparable advantage is further demonstrated for the FEI method when applied to adaptive compensation methods, where the discrete transfer function approach is difficult to implement. Both numerical simulation and laboratory tests with predefined displacements are conducted using sinusoidal signals and random signals as inputs. Findings from numerical simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the FEI method is an efficient and effective approach to compare the performance of different compensation methods, especially for those requiring adaptation of compensation parameters.