Study of the experimental modal analysis techniques applied to structural dynamics

Abstract

The main goal of the present work is to analyze the experimental techniques used in modal analysis, and then apply those techniques to a structural car component in order to evaluate the parameters of the modal test. For this propose the experimental procedure and the equipment are analyzed, specifically the experimental equipment used in the vibration tests, shakers, accelerometers, impact hammers, force transducers, and the support of the structural component. This study will allow a better test performance which will lead to a better interpretation of the analysis results and of the most influent parameters. The experimental modal analysis resorts to the LMS spectral equipment and SCADA-PC associated software: Test Xpress e Test Lab; in manner to obtain the dynamic response of the structure and identify its dynamic characteristics. At the same time is determined the dynamic behavior of the structure using the finite element method through the commercial program ANSYS. The experimental results are extracted by line-fit modal analysis and are used as reference for comparison with the numerical models developed.