Comparison of real-time hybrid testing with shake table tests for an MR damper controlled structure

This paper compares the results of real-time hybrid testing with shake table tests at the University of Connecticut (UConn) to provide validation of a newly constructed real-time hybrid test facility at UConn. The seismic response of a two-story building employing a Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluid damper located between ground and first floor is examined for shake table testing and real-time hybrid simulation. For the shake table tests the two-story building model with Lord Corporation MR Damper (RD-1005-3) is tested on a medium-scale uniaxial seismic simulator located at UConn. In the real-time hybrid test, the building is simulated in a computer while the MR damper is physically tested in hard real-time. The newly constructed real-time hybrid testing facility at UConn provides a means to physically test critical rate dependant components of structural systems in a state-of-the-art hybrid simulation facility.