Co-Simulation-Based Analysis and Experimental Validation of Structure-Equipment Coupling Response in Synchronous Lifting

A structure-equipment coupling response analysis method is developed for synchronous lifting of large flexible structures, in which structural deformation, lifting-point load distribution, and hydraulic equipment response interact with each other. The flexible structure, hydraulic lifting equipment, and lifting-point interface are considered as an integrated system, and the bidirectional interaction between the structure and equipment is described through the transfer relationship among lifting-point displacement, velocity, and force. Based on this coupling mechanism, an AMESim (Siemens, Plano, TX, USA, v2021.1)-Simulink (The MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA, R2024b) co-simulation model is established to analyze the coupling response under basic loading and eccentric loading conditions. Lifting-point displacement and lifting force are selected as the main measured response indices, while displacement difference and lifting-force difference are used for quantitative comparison. The results show that the responses of different lifting points are generally consistent under basic loading, while structural flexibility still causes lifting-force redistribution. Under eccentric loading, the loaded-side lifting points carry larger lifting forces, and both the displacement difference and lifting-force difference become more pronounced. A scaled hydraulic synchronous lifting test platform (custom-built, Shanghai, China) is further used for validation. In the experiment, lifting-point displacement and lifting force are measured. The maximum lifting-point displacement difference increases from approximately 7.3 mm under basic loading to 10.1 mm under eccentric loading, and the maximum lifting-force difference increases from approximately 1030 N to 4000 N. These results indicate that eccentric loading strengthens the interaction between structural displacement response and lifting-force redistribution. The experimental results are generally consistent with the simulation results in overall trends, demonstrating that the proposed method can reflect the main coupling response characteristics during synchronous lifting. This study provides a reference for lifting-force analysis, equipment coordination, and construction parameter optimization.