ISSN 0020-4412, Instruments and Experimental Techniques, 2022, Vol. 65, No. 2, pp. 218–231. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.

, 2022.

APPLICATION OF COMPUTER
IN EXPERIMENTS

Study on Hybrid Test Control System

Based on MATLAB-STM32
Yuan-Ling Lina, Tian-Tian Yanga, Ying-Qing Guoa,b,*, Shi Chenc, and Jin-Bao Lid
a College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037 China
b Nanjing Dongrui Damping Control Technology Co., Ltd, Nanjing, 210033 China
c
College of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189 China
d Jiangsu Southeast Special Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd, Nanjing, 210008 China

*e-mail: gyingqing@126.com
Received October 29, 2021; revised November 25, 2021; accepted November 26, 2021

Abstract–Hybrid test is a new seismic test method combining numerical simulation with physical test. It is an
advanced test method to evaluate the performance of nonlinear structures and systems. This paper proposes
a novel hybrid test control system based on MATLAB-STM32. The system uses the STM32 microcontroller
as the main controller and electrodynamic vibrator as excitation source of system. Furthermore, a complete
set of hybrid test control system which includes physical hardware test and numerical software simulation is
established by using MATLAB-STM32 communication technology, PID control method, displacement sen-
sors, force sensors, etc. It provides a test platform for nonlinear test structures, components that are difficult
to model, or components that require performance testing. This system realizes the function of real-time two-
way communication between MATLAB and STM32 microcontroller. It uses the finite element software
OpenSees to establish the numerical substructure, which solves the problem of the collaborative work
between the numerical simulation test and the physical test of the experimental substructure, and can simu-
late the hybrid dynamic seismic test of the damping structure. To test the control performance of the designed
system, this paper selects the viscoelastic dampers as the test substructure, and the performance detection and
test analysis are completed for the hybrid test of single-layer frame structure with a viscoelastic damper.
The test results show that the data communication between the upper and lower computers is stable and the
whole control system performs well on both dynamic and static behaviors.

DOI: 10.1134/S0020441222020191

1. INTRODUCTION pseudo static loading process proposed by Li et al. [3],

Earthquake has always been one of the most dan-
gerous natural disasters for human life and property
security. To improve resistance of houses and avoid
serious structural damage and collapse of earthquake
disasters, the effective structural seismic design
approaches have been the practical and feasible solu-
tion nowadays. Reasonable structural seismic design
methods require the support of corresponding seismic
theory and the verification of seismic test, and obtain-
ing the response of new anti-seismic specimen in the
earthquake at the lower test cost has become an urgent
problem of seismic test technology. According to the
above requirements, Nakashima et al. [1] proposed a
real-time hybrid test method on the basis of the
pseudo dynamic test method.
For the hybrid test research, Dologlou et al. pro-
posed the pseudo dynamic test method based on the
numerical calculation process of the structural
dynamic equation [2], whose greatest advantage is that
the elastic-bounce-collapse of the structure under the
seismic load can be reproduced by the multi-step
and many new test methods such as the sub-structure
pseudo dynamic test method [4], real-time substruc-
ture test method [5], and remote collaborative test
method [6] are proposed on the basis of the pseudo
dynamic test. The common feature of those three
methods is to divide the analyzed structure into a
numerical calculation part that is simulated by a
numerical model and a real test part. The technology
is a combination method of the numerical simulation
and the real test, and can be referred to as hybrid test.
In recent years, Takanashi et al. have added a type
of test unit in the source code when developing the
finite element software OpenSees, enabling the soft-
ware to support hybrid test system [7]. UI-SimCor, a
hybrid test system developed by the University of Illi-
nois at Champaign, decomposed complex structural
systems into multiple substructures and used the finite
element software OpenSees to perform numerical
analysis of numerical substructures [8]. Xu et al. used
finite element software OpenSees, interface program
OpenFresco, and test control software Lab-

218
 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32 219

The upper computer The lower computer Experimental substructure

OpenSees
Force Displacement

Force feedback
MATLAB The sensor
Signal
The data collection

Test loading device

Serial Port STM32 Displacement loading

Communication microcontroller Signal

Fig. 1. The overall structure diagram of the hybrid test system.

VIEW/dSpace to complete one-layer frame structure
hybrid test, and the test results show that the two
hybrid test systems have good stability and precision
[9]. Xu et al. set up a hybrid test system based on elec-
tric fatigue machine, MATLAB and STM32, com-
pleted the numerical simulation and hybrid test of
two-layer steel frame with additional spring support,
and verified the feasibility of the test system [10].
In addition, the control algorithm of the hybrid
experiment is the key to realizing the real-time hybrid
experiment of the whole structure, Sangyam et al. put
forward a method based on fuzzy control theory and
PID control parameters, which can effectively deter-
mine the three parameters of KP, KI and KD, and real-
ize the intelligent control of PID controller parame-
ters [11]. In view of the defects of general PID control,
Tang et al. [12] proposed the corresponding improved
algorithm, composite PID algorithm, and fuzzy con-
trol algorithm with dynamic compensation, and Kim
and Choi [13] designed a fuzzy PID composite con-
troller based on the comparison between PID and
fuzzy control algorithm, which combines the superior
dynamic performance of fuzzy controller with the high
steady-state accuracy of PID control. Xiong et al. [14]
proposed adaptive neural network time-varying for-
mation tracking control for multi-agent systems. Pan
et al. [15] adopted the displacement-force switching
control method and completed the pseudo dynamic
test of the isolation layer. Ince et al. [16] proposed the
combination of outer loop displacement control and
inner loop force control to improve the accuracy of the
outer loop displacement control and achieve it in the
real-time signal processing board dSpace, Bartl et al.
[17] proposed a hybrid test method based on the
online neural network algorithm with better adaptabil-
ity, which can effectively improve the prediction accu-
racy and calculation efficiency of recovery force.
Finally, the test load control method is related to
the realization of the hybrid experiment, and the qual-
ity of the control effect determines the success or fail-
ure of the hybrid experiment to a great extent [18]. The
common load control modes are displacement con-
trol, force control, and force-displacement switching
control [19]. Liu et al. [20] proposed a force displace-
ment hybrid control method that can be used for
multi-axis actuator coupling of spatial multi-degree
hybrid experiment. Jon et al. [21] studied the speed
control method of PC-DSP hardware system, carried
out the hybrid test of three rubber isolation supports,
and analyzed the effect of the isolation and shock
absorption of bridge structure.
In summary, the hybrid experimental methods
have developed rapidly in recent years, but most of
these experimental methods are based on large-scale
hydraulic servo system [22], the test loading equip-
ment is single, expensive, and covers a large area, the
control system has been packaged, experiment per-
sonnel is inconvenient to modify, and the secondary
development is difficult. In response to these issues,
this paper proposes a hybrid test control system based
on MATLAB-STM32, mainly uses the electrody-
namic vibrator as excitation source of system, uses
STM32 microcontroller as the main controller, uses
MATLAB-STM32 communication technology, PID
control method, displacement sensors, and force sen-
sors, etc., builds a complete set of hybrid test control
system including hardware physical test and software
simulation, and provides a test platform for nonlinear
test structures, parts that are difficult to model or that
require performance testing. In order to test the con-

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

220 LIN et al.

Sending Accept
terminal Displacement
serial port command
End Start
Digital/analogue
switching circuit
buck circuit
Y
N Send
i=n displacement Actuator
i=i+1 command run

Accept force Sensors collect Cf conversion

response signal coefficient
Opensees

Calculated
Accept deviation value
Send force
displacement e(k)
response
command

e(k) Y The PID

Real-time
allows? controller
drawing
MATLAB N
Analogue/digital
conversion circuit
adding circuit

Accepting
Send force
terminal
responce
serial port
The lower computer

Fig. 2. The operation flow of the hybrid test system.

trol performance of the designed system, this has com-
pleted the performance detection and test analysis of
the hybrid test of the single-layer frame structure with
viscoelastic damper. The test results showed that the
data communication between the upper and lower
computers was stable and the whole control system
had good dynamic and steady performance. The
hybrid test system built in this paper has high research
significance and wide popularity in practical applica-
tion.
2. INTRODUCTION
OF THE HYBRID TEST SYSTEM
The hybrid test control system based on MATLAB-
STM32 proposed in this paper is divided into two
parts: the upper computer and the lower computer.
The upper and lower computers can exchange real-
time data and work together, as shown in Fig. 1. The
upper computer mainly uses OpenSees software to
build a numerical structure, numerically simulates the
housing framework for building structures, and uti-
lizes MATLAB module to realize the communication
between the OpenSees module and the actuator sys-
tem. The lower computer mainly includes the control
system and the physical substructure system. The con-
trol system is mainly controlled by the STM32 micro-
controller, the physical substructure system includes
the electrodynamic vibrator system, the sensor system,
the reaction frame structure, and the nonlinear test
substructure which is installed horizontally on the
reaction frame of the actuator system.
In each analysis step, the data is run according to
the following process: the lower computer sends force
data–MATLAB receives force data–MATLAB sends
force data–OpenSees receives force data–OpenSees
analyzes and calculates displacement data–OpenSees
sends displacement data–MATLAB receives displace-
ment data–MATLAB sends displacement data–the
lower computer receives displacement data, so as to
ensure the correctness of the whole hybrid test pro-
cess.
According to the difference of software and func-
tion, the software design of upper computer is divided
into OpenSees module and MATLAB module. The

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32 221

(a)
See partial
enlargement

Power amplifier

Electric
vibrator

Peripheral circuit

Computer

STM32 Stabilized dc
Microcomputer power supply
(b)
Actuating head of Viscoelastic
vibrator damper Reaction device

Force sensor Displacement sensor

Fig. 3. Overall design of hybrid test control system: (a) overall design drawing, (b) partial enlargement.

operation process of the hybrid test system is shown in
Fig. 2. The specific process is as follows:
First, the OpenSees module calculates the numer-
ical substructure model, obtains the inter-layer dis-
placement in the step i, and sends the displacement
command signal to the MATLAB module; MATLAB
module receives the command and sends it to the
lower computer through the serial port. The lower
computer converts the displacement command into a
voltage signal after processing by STM32 microcom-
puter. The lower computer drives the actuator to load
the test substructure to realize the displacement com-
mand, and the displacement and force sensors collect
the displacement signal and force signal, respectively.
The deviation e(k) between displacement theory and
test is calculated; if the error range is acceptable, the
force command will be converted into a numerical sig-
nal through the processing of STM32 microcontroller.
If the error range is not acceptable, the deviation value
will be converted into voltage signal by the control
algorithm of PID controller and conversion coeffi-
cient Cf and sent to the actuator system. The force

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

222 LIN et al.
response signal collected by the sensor will be sent to
the MATLAB module through the serial port. MAT-
LAB receives the force command signal sent by the
lower computer, draws the response graph of the test
substructure under the earthquake in real time, and
sends the force response signal to the OpenSees mod-
ule, then step i+1 is calculated until the end of the test.
3. DESIGN OF HYBRID TEST CONTROL
SYSTEM
3.1. Overall Design of the Control System
As shown in Fig. 3, the control system of hybrid test
is based on STM32 microcomputer as the main con-
troller, embedded with PID control program, data
acquisition program, and communication program of
serial port, and realizes the displacement control and
the loading of vibration force of the system actuator
electric vibrator with the peripheral circuit.
Within each step, lower computer uses the dis-
placement sensors and force sensors for acquiring dis-
placement and force signals of nonlinear test substruc-
ture in real-time after executing command load
respectively, cooperated with the internal digital-to-
analogue conversion circuit of STM32 microcom-
puter, the voltage signal is converted to digital signal
that MATLAB can receive and send to OpenSees after
data processing, OpenSees calculates the next dis-
placement command based on the collected recovery
force and the structural reaction of the numerical sub-
structure.
Stabilized dc power supply is used to power the
peripheral circuit and the sensor, and the power
amplifier amplifies and transmits the drive signal to
the electric vibrator. Using the USART interface of
STM32 microcomputer and the external interface of
serial port communication of MATLAB software, the
data communication between upper and lower com-
puters is realized.
3.2. The Data Communication Design
of Upper and Lower Computers
In contrast to the parallel communication which
possesses the shortcomings including the signal inter-
ference between multiple lines, transmission error, the
high costs of long-distance transportation etc., serial
communication has the advantages of strong anti-
interference ability, long-distance transmission, low
line cost and so on, and thereby it has been a very pop-
ular computer peripherals interface. In this hybrid test
system, the communication between the MATLAB of
the upper computer and the STM32 microcontroller
of the lower computer is realized via the serial port.
The serial communication is based on the RS-232
interface standard, which is realized by USART and
MAX232 level switching circuit. The logical state of
RS-232 interface standard is represented by positive
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
and negative voltage, but the logical state of TTL out-
put by STM32 microcontroller is represented by high
and low levels. Therefore, the level and logical rela-
tionship between the RS-232 interface and TTL must
be converted to ensure the normal communication
between the upper and lower computers. This paper
chooses CH340G and MAX3232 level switching cir-
cuits to realize serial communication together with
USART.
The control system designed in this paper requires
two serial ports to realize the data communication
between STM32 microcontroller and MATLAB. As
shown in Fig. 4, two serial circuits are designed. First,
the traditional 9 pin interface is used to connect with
the computer. In order to ensure the reliability of data
transmission of serial port, the MAX3232 level switch-
ing chip is needed to convert the data signal of 0−3.3 V
output from the chip into the data signal of −9 … +12 V.
Second, for the reasonable distribution of on-board
resources and convenience of use, USB serial port cir-
cuit is used to realize data transmission of serial port,
and CH340G is used for its level switching chip.
Meanwhile, this USB interface and USB power supply
interface are shared, which fully reflects the effective
use of resources.
According to the hardware conditions of the PC
and the actual test needs of the communication pro-
cess, the communication part of the upper computer is
used for serial definition, serial mode setting, interrupt
setting, and callback function writing. These tasks are
performed according to the data format requirements
of the lower computer, through the MATLAB pro-
gramming language. The upper computer communi-
cation software part mainly includes the definition of
serial port and receipt function.
MATLAB’s setting of serials consists of the follow-
ing steps:
(1) create a serial port and initialize the serial s =
serial ('COM10');
(2) open the serial port fopen(s);
(3) read the serial data A=fscanf();
(4) close the serial port fclose(s);
MATLAB’s main program is as follows:
s = serial('COM10');
s.baudrate=115200;
s.parity='none';
s.stopbits=1;
s.InputBufferSize=4096;
s.OutputBufferSize=4096;
s.BytesAvailableFcnMode = 'terminator';
s.BytesAvailableFcn = @zdinstrcallback;
g = serial('COM6');
g.baudrate=115200;
g.InputBufferSize=4096;
g.OutputBufferSize=4096;
Vol. 65 No. 2 2022
 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32 223

C21 VCC3.3 COM

U2
104 1 16 C25 1
C1+ VCC GND
C22 2 15 104 6
V+ GND
104 3 14 2
C1- DOUT1
C23 4 13 7
GND C2+ RIN1
104 5 12 USART2_RX 3
C2- ROUT1
C24 6 11 USART2_TX 8
V- DIN1
104 7 10 4
DOUT2 DIN2
8 9 9
RIN2 ROUT2
5
SP3232
VCC5 C29 USART
GND
U3 C30
1 16 104
GND GND VCC GND
USART1 RX 2 15
TND R232
USART1_TX
C26 3 14 10uF VUSB
RXD RTS#
4 13
GND V3 DTR#
CH340 D+ 5 12 VCC5
D+ DCD#
104 CH340_D- 6 11 USB_232
D- RI#
7 10 1
XI DSR# VCC
1 2 8 9 C31 CH340 D+ 2
XO CTS# D-
Y3 10uF CH340_D- 3
12 MHz CH340G D+
4
NC
5
GND
C27 C28 GND
22 22 USB

GND

GND

Fig. 4. Serial communication circuit diagram.

g.parity='none'; USART2_IRQHandler(void), where in void

g.stopbits=1;
fopen(g);
fopen(s).
The above program mainly completes the specific
configuration of the serial port in the PC, that is
MATLAB, the main task is to define two serial
objects, set the serial port bit rate and the specific for-
mat of data transmission such as data bits, check bits,
and so on. To implement data communication that
meets the requirements of the experiment, it is neces-
sary to set up a receipt function, because the main pro-
cessing of the data of the upper computer is done in
the receipt function. The definition of receipt function
is completed by the following functions: s.Bytes Avail-
ableFcnMode = 'terminator'; and s.BytesAvailableFcn
=@zdinstrcallback; both functions are encapsulated
in the MATLAB toolbox, s.Bytes AvailableFcnMode
= 'terminator'; completes the type definition of the
receipt function, which represents that the receipt
function is automatically called when the upper
machine reads serial data with a “carriage return”
character; s.BytesAvailableFcn = @zdinstrcallback
completes the name definition of the receipt function,
this allows the system to call the specified receipt func-
tion.
The lower computer uses the USART serial port to
complete the communication with the upper com-
puter. The serial port setting mainly includes the fol-
lowing functions: void uart2_init(u32 bound) and void
uart2_init(u32 bound) mainly setting of the serial port
is completed, the key settings are baud rate, data bit,
stop bit, parity bit, etc., those must be the same as the
serial port settings in the upper computer to success-
fully communicate; void USART2_IRQHan-
dler(void) function is the service program function of
serial port interrupt, through which the target dis-
placement and force data are read in this paper, and
also through the execution of this function, it can suc-
cessfully jump to the main function to execute the sys-
tem control program. Interrupt group setting and pri-
ority management of interrupt are implemented
through library functions in this paper, which makes
the configuration process of interrupts more intuitive
and convenient for users.
Program of the lower computer STM32 is as fol-
lows:
void USART IRQHandler(void)
{
if (USART_GetState (USART, RXNE)! = RESET)
{
datarec[buf_c]=USART_ReceiveData(USART2);
val[buf_c] =datarec[buf_c]-0x30;
}
buf_c++;
if (buf_c==5)
{
flagflag=1;

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

224 LIN et al.
buf_c=0;
X=val[0]+val[1]/10+val[2]/100+val[3]/1000;
D=val [4];
if (flagflag==1)
{ where K PD is the quasi-stiffness matrix of the struc-
start =1;
flagflag =0;
} load vector at time step i +1 and the restoring force of
}
} equilibrium equation of the whole damping structure
In the program, datarec[buf_c] =USART_Re-
ceiveData(USART2) function reads the data received
in the serial port and val[buf_c] =datarec[buf_c]-
0×30 converts the received ASCII code into decimal
number and then recombines it to get the voltage X.
Finally, the value of flagflag determines whether to
jump to the main function for executing the system
control program.
3.3. Design of Integral Algorithm
for Numerical Substructure
The principle of hybrid test is derived from the
quasi-dynamic test method which has been developed
for more than 30 years. The basic idea is to model the
numerical substructures and write specific numerical
calculation programs. The discrete motion equation
for solving the global damping structure is as follows:
Mai +1 + Cai +1 + Kai +1 + RiE+1(ai +1, ai +1, ai +1) = Fi +1, (1)
where the subscript i represents the time step of step i;
M is the mass matrix of the numerical substructure, C
is the damping matrix of the numerical substructure,
and ai +1, ai +1, ai +1 are acceleration vector, velocity vec-
tor and displacement vector, respectively; K represents
the numerical substructure stiffness matrix, Kai +1 rep-
resents the numerical substructure restoring force vec-
tor; RiE+1 represents the reaction vector of the experi-
mental substructure. The reaction vector of the exper-
imental substructure RiE+1 is related to displacement,
velocity, and acceleration and can be measured in the
test. Fi+1 represents the external load vector which is
the simulated earthquake excitation in this paper.
We assume that the damping force of the numerical
substructure is linear, then, displacement and velocity
expressions of the discrete time system with the aver-
age acceleration method are (respectively)
Δt
2
ai +1 = ai + Δtai + , (2)
4(ai + ai +1)
Δt 2
ai +1 = ai + . (3)
2(ai + ai +1)
The assumption of average acceleration method is
substituted into the hybrid test Eq. (1) to solve the dis-
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
crete motion equation of the structure and the equilib-
rium equation of equivalent force is obtained:
Kai +1 + K PD ai +1 + RiE+1 = FEQ,i +1, (4)
ture; FEQ,i +1 is the equivalent external force vector,
which is obtained by the joint action of the external
the whole structure at time step i.
Equation (4) can be regarded as the equal-force
under seismic excitation. On the left side of the equa-
tion, it is composed of the numerical substructure
restoring force Kai +1 , quasi-dynamic reaction force
K PD ai +1 , and experimental substructure reaction force
RiE+1 . On the right side of the equation, it is the equiva-
lent external force FEQ,i +1 applied on the whole damp-
ing structure.
3.4. Design of PID Control Algorithm
The experimental principle of the hybrid test sys-
tem developed in this paper is obtaining the force
response of the test substructure by controlling the
displacement of the test substructure through the
actuator system, and then applying the force on the
numerical model to obtain the next displacement
command. Therefore, based on the displacement sen-
sor and PID controller, this paper establishes the dis-
placement control method of this electrodynamic
actuator system.
The PID controller consists of a linear combina-
tion of a proportion unit, an integral unit and a differ-
ential unit. The expression of the control algorithm is
as follows:
 t
de(t )

u(t ) = K P e(t ) + 1 e(t )dt + TD

 TI 0 dt 
(5)
t
de(t )

= K P e(t ) + K I e(t )dt + K D
0
dt
,
where KP represents the proportional gain coefficient,
KI represents the integral gain coefficient, and KD rep-
resents the differential gain coefficient; TI represents
the integral time constant, TD represents the differen-
tial time constant.
The control of electric actuator system is realized
through the lower computer STM32 microcontroller.
To realize PID control in the microcontroller, Eq. (5)
need to be discretized, the sampling time t should be
discretized, leading to the fact that TI and TD are dis-
crete sampling periods, while KP, KI, and KD are dis-
crete sampling sequences. Moreover, the integrals and
differentials should be replaced by sum and difference
Vol. 65 No. 2 2022
 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32
KP
+ Conversion
r(k) e(k)
KI
− +
KD
Fig. 5. PID control schematic for hybrid test system.
manners, respectively. The discretized expression of the
control algorithm of the positional PID controller is
k
u(k ) = K P ek + K I e
i =0
i + K D (ek − ek −1) + u0,
where k represents the serial number of the sample,
u(k) represents the kth output value of the control
quantity, represents the deviation of the kth output
error of the controlled system, ek–1 represents the devi-
ation of the (k – 1)th output error, and u0 represents
the initial value of the control output.
In the hybrid test system developed in this paper,
the force size of the electric actuator output is related
to voltage, when the deviation of displacement
appears, the micro controller drives the actuator sys-
tem to output force signal to eliminate the deviation,
so it is necessary to introduce a conversion coefficient
c to convert the control of displacement into a voltage
signal to control. The conversion coefficient c needs to
be adjusted before the test to achieve the best control
effect. The PID control schematic in this hybrid test
system is shown in Fig. 5.
The above is the design of the PID controller for
the characteristics of the electric actuator system. The
basic idea is to convert the displacement into a voltage
signal by the conversion coefficient c and then control
the electric actuator system to output force and load
on the experimental substructure. However, because
the conversion coefficient cannot perfectly convert
displacement and output, there will be some errors in
the actual trial process. Therefore, before the start of
the experiment, the three parameters KP, KI, KD of the
PID controller, as well as the sampling cycle T, need to
be adjusted, the optimal control effect can only be
achieved by adjusting to the appropriate value.
The program of lower computer in this paper was
developed in Keil uvison4 software and is based on the
firmware library of the STM32 micro controller. The
program development of peripheral firmware library
file is the main part of the software design of the lower
computer. After the development of program of the
lower computer is completed, the program can be
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
225
u(k) Actuator Experimental y(k)
Coefficient
System Substructure
Cf
compiled directly into the STM32 micro controller
through Keil uvison4 software, so as to realize the
function of the lower computer.
(6) The hybrid test system designed in this paper is a
kind of control system based on the feedback of dis-
placement, and in order to ensure the control effect,
the positional PID control algorithm is used.
The partial control code of PID is as follows:
float PID_realize(float move)
{
double adcx;
pid.setmove =move;
pid.err= pid.setmove-pid.actualmove;
pid.integral +=pid.err;
pid.voltage=pid.kp*pid.err+pid.ki*pid.inte-
gral+pid.kd*(pid.err-pid.errlast);
pid.errlast =pid.err;
pid.actualmove =pid.voltage*1.0;
DAC->DHR12R1=pid.voltage;
Adcx =Get_Adc_ Average1(ADC_Channel_1,10);
pid.actualF = (float) (adcx*50.000/4096-23.010);
pid.actualmove= (float)adcx*(3.3/4096)*14.2857;
}
As described above, the principle of PID control
algorithm takes the error between expected value and
actual output as the operation object to realize the
control of the system. In the PID implementation
function, a number of variables are defined, including
pid.setmove(expected value), pid.actualmove(actual
output), pid.err(error), pid.integral, pid.voltage, etc.
The pid.setmove = move statement represents the dis-
placement number obtained by the upper and lower
computers during the communication process; pid.err
= pid.setmove – pid.actualmove represents displace-
ment error; pid.voltage = pid.kp*pid.err + pid.ki *
pid.integral + pid.kd * (pid.err – pid.errlast) rep-
resents the calculation of PID output; voltage.actual-
move = pid.voltage * 1.0 represents the calculation of
output voltage.
Vol. 65 No. 2 2022
226 LIN et al.
Transferred data
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0 500
Fig. 6. Test diagram of serial communication.
4. THE PERFORMANCE TEST
OF HYBRID TEST SYSTEM
4.1. The Performance Test of Communication between
the Upper and Lower Computers
Serial communication is the only channel for
exchanging data between the upper and lower comput-
ers in this paper, and the real-time and reliability of
serial communication is directly related to the effect of
the whole experiment. This experiment is to send the
sine wave named 'elc' to the lower computer after being
disposed by the upper computer, then, lower computer
returns the data as is to the upper machine and stores
it in the self-defined array AA[ ]. Finally, the two 'elc'
sine waves before and after transmission are drawn
through the plot() function in MATLAB, and then
they are compared to verify the reliability of the serial
communication.
From Fig. 6, it can be seen that data before and
after sine wave communication are consistent, which
proves the high reliability of the serial communication.
Besides, from the MATLAB command window, it is
learned that the transmission time of 1502 data is
about 30 s, which meets the real-time requirements of
the experiment.
4.2. The Performance Test of Displacement Control
for PID Controller
The methods and steps of PID control in the lower
computer micro controller of the hybrid test system
are introduced in Subsection 3.3. Therefore, this sec-
tion tests the displacement control performance of the
PID controller to see if the PID controller can quickly
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
Raw data
Post-transfer data
1000 1500
Data points
and accurately achieve the target displacement com-
mand.
The performance test of displacement control for
PID controller is as follows: send a set displacement
signal to the electric actuator system through the con-
troller, then, the PID controller receives the displace-
ment signal and processes and drives the electric actu-
ator system to load, and then the displacement data
should be collected through the displacement sensor,
and finally the collected displacement data and target
displacement data should be compared and analyzed,
so as to check the displacement control performance
of the PID controller.
The purpose of this paper is to study the response
of viscoelastic damping structure under the influence
of earthquakes. In the course of the actual hybrid test,
the signal sent to the actuator system via the controller
is a seismic wave signal which represents random dis-
placements. Therefore, in the displacement control
performance test, a sine signal is set to simulate the
signal in the hybrid test. Finally, according to the char-
acteristics of the numerical substructure of the hybrid
test system in this paper, the sine signal with the ampli-
tude value of ±1 mm and the frequency of 1000 × π/60
is used as the test signal.
In the performance test, the signal is sent to the
electric actuator system through the PID controller for
loading and the displacement response is collected by
the displacement sensor to obtain the final actual
result of displacement response. The target displace-
ment results are compared and analyzed in the same
graph with the actual displacement results, as shown
in Fig. 7.
Vol. 65 No. 2 2022
 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32 227

Displacement, mm
1.5 (a)
See the local enlarged view The target displacement
The actual displacement
1.0

0.5

−0.5

−1.0

−1.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Time, s
Error, mm
0.008
(b)
0.006

0.004

0.002

−0.002

−0.004

−0.006
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Time, s

Fig. 7. Comparison diagram (a) and error diagram (b) of displacement control performance test for PID controller.

From Fig. 7, one can intuitively see that the curves
of the target and the actual displacements almost
coincide without large overshoot and the order of
magnitude of error at each moment is 10–3 mm,
showing good tracking effect. The dynamic effect is
also good as the output can track the input rapidly.
Besides, the small delay of the system and the minor
error indicate a good control effect. This means that
the PID controller is well positioned to drive the elec-
tric vibrator to complete the displacement command.
4.3. Hybrid Test of One-layer Two-dimensional
Viscoelastic Damping Frame Structure
In this paper, a simpler model is selected to verify
the correctness of the hybrid test control system based
on MATLAB-STM32. A housing frame is taken from
the one-layer concrete frame structure for analysis,
taking into account the parameters of the electric
actuator system, the scale model of the frame is estab-
lished for experiment.
The overall model of the experiment is a scale
frame structure of one-layer one-span two-dimen-
sional reinforced concrete structure with a viscoelastic
damper, as shown in Fig. 8, taking the viscoelastic
damper in the structure model as the experimental
substructure, and the rest of the structural model as a
numerical substructure.
The height of the floor is 600 mm, the span is
800 mm, the span of the floor is 600 mm, the thick-
ness of the floor is 12 mm, and the density of concrete

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

228 LIN et al.
is 2500 kg/m3. It is assumed that the structural foun-
dation is connected to the foundation rigidly and the
viscoelastic damper is articulated with the main frame
structure. The length and width of cross section of the
column are both 40 mm, the thickness of the concrete
protective layer is 2 mm, and four no. 6 steel bars are
arranged in the column. The height and width of cross
section of the beam are 40 and 20 mm, respectively.
The seismic wave inputted is EI-Centro wave, the time
step is 0.02 s, the number of steps is calculated to take
1500, the duration of seismic wave is 30 s, and the peak
acceleration is 0.5 m/s2.
Among them, in the horizontal seismic analysis,
the column is the main stressed component, so in the
numerical model of the OpenSees module, the beam
cross section is defined as the elastic cross section,
which is realized by the section Elastic command. The
analysis of elastic cross section is simple, only the elas-
tic modulus, cross section area, and moment of inertia
of the cross section need to be defined. Define the col-
umn cross section as a fiber section, which is achieved
by the section Fiber command. The nonlinearBeam-
Column unit in the OpenSees module is based on the
fiber model, which is based on the fiber model, the
fiber section is assigned to the component unit when
the model is built. In the calculation, the softness
matrix of the component uses the Gaussian numerical
integration method. At the location of each point of
integration, the section is simulated by fiber section,
so that the sectional softness at the point of integration
is very close to the actual sectional softness and the
response of the structure under the effect of the earth-
quake can be simulated more realistically.
The hybrid test is carried out on a one-layer frame
structure with viscoelastic damper, the stiffness matrix
and damping matrix of the numerical substructure are
K and C, the stiffness and damping of the experimental
substructure are KE and CE, respectively. In this paper,
the amplitude of loading force is 100 N, the loading
frequency is 5 Hz, and the mass matrix of the one-
layer frame structure is M, regardless of the effect of
the quality of the experimental substructure on the
hybrid test. The specific parameter values are as fol-
lows: M = 500 kg, K = 492980 N/m, C =1570 N s/m,
damping ratio e = 0.05, KE = 200 809 N/m, CE =
2865 N s/m, the whole structure’s self-vibration cycle
T = 0.2 s.
The seismic wave entered in this experiment is EI-
Centro wave, peak acceleration is 0.3 m/s2, the time of
seismic action is 20 s, and the time step is 0.02 s.
The parameters of the adjusted positional PID con-
troller are as follows: proportional coefficient is 0.3,
integral coefficient is 0.1, and differential coefficient is
0. In the calculation of force distribution coefficient,
the equivalent stiffness calculated when the force
amplitude is 100 N and the loading frequency is 5 Hz
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of scale frame structure of one-
layer one-span two-dimensional reinforced concrete
structure.
is adopted for the stiffness of the experimental sub-
structure and the force distribution coefficient is cal-
culated at 0.0324. The contrast between the one-layer
frame structure hybrid test with viscoelastic damper
with the theoretical results is as shown in Fig. 9, the
simulation results of the viscoelastic damper are simu-
lated by the method of equivalent stiffness and equiv-
alent damping.
As can be seen from the results in Fig. 9, under the
influence of the earthquake, the one-layer frame
structure with viscoelastic damper has a maximal dis-
placement of 0.716 mm and a minimal displacement
of −0.678 mm, while the maximal displacement of the
finite element simulation results is 0.684 mm, and the
minimal displacement is −0.706 mm. The maximal
absolute error of the two displacements is 0.109, and
the standard deviation of the displacement is 0.08888.
The structure has a maximal speed of 10.013 mm/s
and a minimal speed of –7.984 mm/s in the hybrid
test, while the maximal speed is 9.638 mm/s and the
minimal speed is −6.651 mm/s in the finite element
simulation. The maximal absolute error of the two
speeds is 1.766, and the standard deviation of the
speed error is 0.2544. The maximal acceleration of the
hybrid test is 116.549 mm/s2, the minimal acceleration
is −135.961 mm/s2, the maximal acceleration of the
finite element simulation results is 124.31 mm/s2, the
minimal acceleration is −131.019 mm/s2, the absolute
error of the acceleration is 15.797, and the standard
deviation of acceleration error is 3.0912.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the
one-layer frame structure with viscoelastic damper
differs greatly from the hybrid test value and the finite
element simulation value at peak under seismic action,
and it can be seen from Fig. 9 that the hybrid test value
is less than the finite element simulation value.
Because the viscoelastic damper is a speed-dependent
damper, its equivalent stiffness decreases with the
decrease of loading frequency, the equivalent damping
increases with the decrease of loading frequency, the
hybrid test cannot be completed in real time, resulting
Vol. 65 No. 2 2022
 STUDY ON HYBRID TEST CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON MATLAB-STM32 229

Displacement, mm
0.8
(a) Finite element simulation
0.6
Hybrid test
0.4

0.2

−0.2

−0.4

−0.6

−0.8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time, s
Speed, mm/s
10 (b) Finite element simulation
8 Hybrid test
6
4
2
0
−2
−4
−6
−8
−10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time, s
Acceleration, mm/s2
150
(c) Finite element simulation
100 Hybrid test

50

−50

−100

−150
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time, s

Fig. 9. The contrast between the one-layer frame structure hybrid test with viscoelastic damper and the theoretical results.

INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Vol. 65 No. 2 2022

230 LIN et al.
in the facts that equivalent stiffness of the viscoelastic
damper in the course of the experiment is small, the
equivalent damping is large, so the test results are
slightly less than the theoretical results.
From Fig. 9, one can see that the hybrid test and
the theoretical results are basically consistent, and the
standard deviation of the error is small, which shows
that the overall deviation between the hybrid test solu-
tion and the theoretical solution is small, and the fea-
sibility of the hybrid test control system designed in
this paper is verified.
5. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, using MATLAB software as the inter-
mediary between the upper and lower computers with
STM32 as the main controller, a control system of
hybrid test based on MATLAB-STM32 is developed,
and a hybrid test study of viscoelastic damping frame
structure is carried out. This paper uses MATLAB-
STM32 communication technology, PID control
method, displacement sensors, and force sensors, etc.,
builds a complete set of hybrid test control system
including hardware physical test and software simula-
tion, and provides a test platform for nonlinear test
structures, parts that are difficult to model or that
require performance testing. The conclusions of this
paper are as follows:
(1) In order to solve the problem of the force load-
ing characteristics of the electric actuator system used,
the displacement control program based on the dis-
placement sensor and PID controller is developed.
The displacement signal command can be realized by
testing the performance of sine displacement signal,
which can be used to meet the requirements of dis-
placement control of hybrid test.
(2) This paper has developed a hybrid test control
system based on MATLAB-STM32, which details the
whole hardware and software of the system, the com-
munication of the upper and lower computer and the
PID controller, and carries out some performance
tests and data analysis pertinently, and verifies that the
modules have good stability and high precision
through the performance test to meet the require-
ments of the hybrid test.
(3) In this paper, the hybrid test of viscoelastic
shock-absorbing concrete frame structure is carried
out by using the control system developed of hybrid
test based on MATLAB-STM32, and the feasibility
and accuracy of the control system for hybrid test are
verified by the one-layer two-dimensional frame
hybrid test. In addition, the results of the experiment
proved that the viscoelastic damper has a good damp-
ing effect on the structure under the seismic action.
INSTRUMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge supports from the
National Key R&D Programs of China (2019YFE0121900),
and the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(nos. 52130807, 51878355).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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