Real-time dynamic substructuring testing of viscous seismic protective devices for bridge structures

This paper presents a real-time dynamic substructuring (RTDS) test program carried out on bridge structures equipped with two innovative viscous seismic protective devices: a seismic damping unit and a shock transmission unit. In the RTDS tests, the seismic protective units were physically tested in the laboratory using a high performance dynamic actuator imposing, in real time, the displacement time histories obtained from numerical simulations being run in parallel. The integration scheme used in the test program was the Rosenbrock-W variant, and the integration was performed using The MathWorks’ Simulink and XPC target computer environment. The numerical counterpart included the bridge columns and the additional energy dissipation properties. The nonlinear response of these components was accounted for in the numerical models. The tests were run under various ground motions, and the influence of modeling assumptions such as damping and initial stiffness was investigated. Finally, the test results are compared to the predictions from nonlinear dynamic time history analyses performed using commercially available computer programs. The results indicate that simple numerical modeling techniques can lead to accurate prediction of the displacement response of bridge structures equipped with the seismic protective systems studied.

► Real-time dynamic substructuring (RTDS) tests carried out on bridge structures. ► The tested bridges were equipped with a seismic damping unit or a shock transmission unit. ► Units were tested physically using displacements from bridge simulations run in parallel. ► Effects of various ground motions and modeling assumptions were investigated. ► The test results are in excellent agreement with those from nonlinear dynamic time history analyses.