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Implicit-explicit (IMEX) time integration schemes are well suited for non-linear structural dynamics because of their low computational cost and high accuracy. However, the stability of IMEX schemes cannot be guaranteed for general non-linear problems. In this article, we present a scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) stabilization of high-order IMEX time integration schemes that leads to unconditional stability. The proposed IMEX-BDFk-SAV schemes treat linear terms implicitly using kth-order backward difference formulas (BDFk) and non-linear terms explicitly. This eliminates the need for iterations in non-linear problems and leads to low computational costs. Truncation error analysis of the proposed IMEX-BDFk-SAV schemes confirms that up to kth-order accuracy can be achieved and this is verified through a series of convergence tests. Unlike existing SAV schemes for first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs), we introduce a novel SAV for the proposed schemes that allows direct solution of the second-order ODEs without transforming them into a system of first-order ODEs. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of the proposed schemes by solving several non-linear problems in structural dynamics and show that the proposed schemes can achieve high accuracy at a low computational cost while maintaining unconditional stability. 

Simulating the dynamics of structural systems containing both stiff and flexible parts with a time integration scheme that uses a uniform time-step for the entire system is challenging because of the presence of multiple spatial and temporal scales in the response. We present, for the first time, a multi-time-step (MTS) coupling method for composite time integration schemes that is well-suited for such stiff-flexible systems. Using this method, the problem domain is divided into smaller subdomains that are integrated using different time-step sizes and/or different composite time integration schemes to achieve high accuracy at a low computational cost. In contrast to conventional MTS methods for single-step schemes, a key challenge with coupling composite schemes is that multiple constraint conditions are needed to enforce continuity of the solution across subdomains. We develop the constraints necessary for achieving unconditionally stable coupling of the composite ρ∞-Bathe schemes and prove this property analytically. Further, we conduct a local truncation error analysis and study the period elongation and amplitude decay characteristics of the proposed method. Lastly, we demonstrate the performance of the method for linear and nonlinear stiff-flexible systems to show that the proposed MTS method can achieve higher accuracy than existing methods for time integration, for the same computational cost. 

Advancing RTHS methods to readily handle multi-dimensional problems has great potential for enabling more advanced testing and synergistically using existing laboratory facilities that have the capacity for such experimentation. However, the high internal coupling between hydraulics actuators and the nonlinear kinematics escalates the complexity of actuator control and boundary condition tracking. To enable researchers in the RTHS community to develop and compare advanced control algorithms, this paper proposes a benchmark control problem for a multi-axial real-time hybrid simulation (maRTHS) and presents its definition and implementation on a steel frame excited by seismic loads at the base. The benchmark problem enables the development and validation of control techniques for tracking both translation and rotation degrees of freedom of a plant that consists of a steel frame, two hydraulic actuators, and a steel coupler with high stiffness that couples the axial displacements of the hydraulic actuators resulting in the required motion of the frame node. In this investigation, the different components of this benchmark were developed, tested, and a set of maRTHS were conducted to demonstrate its feasibility in order to provide a realistic virtual platform. To offer flexibility in the control design process, experimental data for identification purposes, finite element models for the reference structure, numerical, and physical substructure, and plant models with model uncertainties are provided. Also, a sample example of an RTHS design based on a linear quadratic Gaussian controller is included as part of a computational code package, which facilitates the exploration of the tradeoff between robustness and performance of tracking control designs. The goals of this benchmark are to: extend existing control or develop new control techniques; provide a computational tool for investigation of the challenging aspects of maRTHS; encourage a transition to multiple actuator RTHS scenarios; and make available a challenging problem for new researchers to investigate maRTHS approaches. We believe that this benchmark problem will encourage the advancing of the next-generation of controllers for more realistic RTHS methods.