| Abstract: | This paper presents a cyber‐physical approach to optimize the semiactive control of a base‐isolated structure under a suite of earthquakes. The approach uses numerical search algorithms to guide the exploration of the design space and real‐time hybrid simulation (RTHS) to evaluate candidate designs, creating a framework for real‐time hybrid optimization (RHTO). By supplanting traditional numerical analysis (i.e., finite element methods) with RTHS, structural components that are difficult to model can be represented accurately while still capturing global structural performance. The efficiency of RTHO is improved for multiple design excitations with the creation of a multiinterval particle swarm optimization (MI‐PSO) algorithm. As a proof‐of‐concept, RTHO is applied to improve the seismic performance of a base‐isolated structure with supplemental control. The proposed RTHO framework with MI‐PSO is a versatile technique for multivariate optimization under multiple excitations. It is well suited for the accurate and rapid evaluation of structures with nonlinear experimental substructures, in particular, those that do not undergo permanent damage such as structural control devices. The RTHO framework integrates popular optimization algorithms with advanced experimental methods, creating an exciting new cyber‐physical approach to design. |
