Real-time active control verification via a structural simulator

Verification of active control algorithms prior to their implementation to real structures has always been a time-consuming and costly process. At the minimum, they need to be examined through analytical simulation. Laboratory testing using a scaled-down model on a shaking table or in a wind tunnel is also often necessary. This investment in experimental hardware and inherent inaccuracies in experimental set-up or modeling can be a major obstacle in structural control implementation. In this paper, an alternative real-time verification procedure via a simulator is proposed. In this procedure, the control strategy is implemented inside a dedicated PC controller with an independent Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to calculate the required control force. The DSP performs the function of data acquisition through communication with an Analog to Digital Converter (A/D) and a Digital to Analog Converter (D/A). Another PC structural simulator with a similar dedicated hardware is constructed to emulate the real-time response of a theoretic structure with the Hybrid/Active Mass Damper (HMD/AMD) in order to verify the real-time control effect. The integrated system is dedicated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed digital control algorithm and to provide also a preimplementation testing base to test the functions required for practical utilization.