Disturbance Observer-Based Reaction Force Compensation in Shaking Table Systems

Abstract

This paper presents a practical control methodology of the shaking tables for earthquake simulators. Reaction force generated by a nonlinear specimen on the shaking table generally deteriorates the motion performance of the table, resulting in the lower control accuracy of the seismic tests. In order to provide the precise table motion, therefor, a disturbance observer-based control approach is adopted, where the unknown disturbances of the table can be compensated in real time manner. The proposed compensation algorithm has been verified by experiments using an actual shaking table system.