Design and implementation of a compound load simulator

With the devised load decoupling component, a compound load simulator used to compositely simulate loads like bending moment, axial force and torque was designed based on the principle of a kind of zero-torsion parallel mechanism. The core of its control system was a programmable multi-axis motion controller (PMAC). By load feedbacks from force or torque sensors, the system can realize the load simulation of torque, bending moment or axial force in the form of sine wave with the control method of triple close-loops including force, position and current. Meanwhile, it can effectively avoid the influences to the sensors' signal from system electromagnetic interference. Some field tests of compound load simulation were made to validate the correctness of the mechanical design and the control method.