A computational finite‐element program for hybrid simulation

Abstract

SUMMARY The essence of real time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is the reliance on a physical test (virtual finite element) in support of a numerical simulation, which is unable to properly simulate it numerically. Hence, the computational support for a hybrid simulation is of paramount importance, and one with anything less than a state of the art computational support may defeat the purpose of such an endeavor. A critical, yet often ignored, component of RTHS is precisely the computational engine, which unfortunately has been a bottleneck for realistic studies. Most researches have focused on either the control or on the communication (mostly in distributed, non‐real time hybrid simulation) leaving the third leg of RTHS (computation) ignored and limited to the simulation of simple models (small number of degrees of freedom and limited nonlinearities). This paper details the development of a specialized software written explicitly to perform, single site, hybrid simulation ranging from pseudo‐dynamic to hard real time ones. Solution strategy, implementation details, and actual applications are reported. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.