App Note #6

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1/14/02

MEscopeVES Application Note #6

Single and Multiple Reference Curve Fitting
INTRODUCTION
In MEscopeVES, experimental modal parameters are typically estimated from a set of Frequency Response Functions
(FRFs) measured from a structure. Each FRF is an estimate
of the dynamic characteristics between two degrees of freedom (DOFs) or points & directions of the structure.
In this note, the curve fitting capabilities of the Visual Modal Pro and Visual SDM options will be used to estimate
modal parameters from single and multiple references of
FRF data.

MIMO Testing
All of the FRF measurements that can be made between
pairs of DOFs on a structure can be assembled into an FRF
matrix. This FRF matrix model can then be used to predict
any structural response (or output) due to any combination
of excitations (or inputs). The FRF model is written as,

{ X( j )} = [H( j )]{F ( j )}
where:

[H( j )] = FRF matrix

{ X( j )} = vector of Fourier transforms of
displacement responses, or outputs.
{ F( j )} = vector of Fourier transforms of

(1)

Figure 1 depicts the process of acquiring a set of FRF measurements on a structure. The input is fixed at point 7 in the
vertical direction, and the varying outputs are at points 1, 2,
3, etc., each in the vertical direction. Each FRF is measured
between the fixed input DOF (at point 7) and a different
output DOF.
Notice that all of these measurements are put into one column of the FRF matrix, corresponding to the input at point
7. Each FRF is also placed in the row corresponding to its
output DOF. In general, each column of the FRF matrix
corresponds to an input DOF, and each row corresponds to
an output DOF.

SINGLE REFERENCE MODAL TESTING

Single reference modal testing means that a single (fixed)
input or a single (fixed) output DOF is used during FRF
measurement. In the example in Figure 1, a single fixed
input was used, and a single column of FRFs in the FRF
matrix was measured.
In a typical roving hammer impact test, an accelerometer is
used to measure a single (fixed) output, and the roving hammer is used to provide input at a variety of DOFs. This
measurement process is shown in Figure 2. The FRFs resulting from a roving hammer test will fill in a single row of
the FRF matrix.

excitation forces, or inputs.

Figure 2. Impact Testing

Figure 1. FRF Measurements on a Structure.

To summarize, a single reference data set is a set of FRFs

taken from a single row or single column of the FRF matrix. Furthermore, for the majority of cases, a single row or

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single column of FRF measurements is sufficient to estimate

the modal parameters of the structure.

MULTIPLE REFERENCE MODAL TESTING

Multiple reference modal testing means that two or more
(fixed) input DOFs, or two or more (fixed) output DOFs
are used during FRF measurement. This results in the
measurement of multiple rows or columns of FRFs from the
FRF matrix. Since one row or column is usually sufficient,
Why then measure multiple rows or columns? There are
several good reasons.
1.

2.

3.

If the single reference DOF corresponds to a nodal

point (a DOF with zero value) of the mode shape of a
particular mode, then evidence of that mode (its resonance peak), will not appear in any measurement.
Therefore, the mode will be missed.
FRFs from different references may provide larger
resonance peaks (larger modal participation factors),
and hence better modal parameter estimates for some
modes than from a single reference.
If the structure is large and/or non-linear, multiple shakers (inputs) may be needed to achieve sufficient signal
levels for making effectively linear FRF measurements.

Multiple reference modal testing requires that multiple inputs and outputs be simultaneously acquired. This requires
multiple transducers and channels of signal processing for
simultaneously acquiring all channels of data. (In certain
repeatable testing situations, simultaneous acquisition is not
required.) Furthermore, if multiple inputs are used, the
measured input signals must be uncorrelated with one another. That is, they must not be the same signal. (This assumption can also be ignored in certain instances.)
The Transform | Calculate | FRFs command in
MEscopeVES calculates multiple reference FRFs from
multi input-output time domain or linear spectrum data.

Modal Data Used To Synthesize Measurements

Mode No.:
Frequency (Hz):
Damping (%
%):

First, this modal data will be manually entered into a Shape

Table in MEscopeVES. Then a set of single reference
FRFs will be synthesized using the modal data. Next, these
FRFs will be curve fit to recover the original modal parameters.
Then, a multi reference set of FRFs will be synthesized using the same modal parameters. Finally, these FRFs will be
curve fit, and a best set of modal parameters chosen for
comparison with the original parameters.

1
50.0
3.0
-----

2
52.0
2.5
Residues

3
55.0
3.0
-----

Measurement 1:

1.0

0.0

-1.0

Measurement 2:

0.5

-0.25

-0.6

Measurement 3:

0.0

-0.5

0.6

Measurement 4:

-0.5

-0.75

-0.3

Measurement 5:

-1.0

-1.0

-0.8

Figure 3. Modal Parameters (3 Modes, 5 Measurements).

ENTERING DATA INTO A SHAPE TABLE

To enter the modal parameters in Figure 3 into a new Shape
Table,

Start a new Project by executing the File | Project |

New command in the MEscopeVES window.

Execute the File | New | Shape Table command in the

MEscopeVES window.

A dialog box will open, allowing you to name the new shape
table.

Type 3 Close Modes and click on OK.

A dialog box will open. Enter 3 for Number Of

Shapes and 5 for Number Of DOFs.

Entering Frequencies & Damping

Execute the Display | Shapes command to display the

Shapes in a spreadsheet.

To enter the first modal frequency (50 Hz), click on the

cell in the Frequency row and the Shape 1 column.
Type 50 (Hz) and press the Enter key. In the same
way, enter 52 Hz for Shape 2, and 55 Hz for Shape 3.

To enter the modal damping for the first mode, click on

the cell in the Damping (%) row and the Shape 1 column. Type 3 (%) and press the Enter key. In the same
way, enter 2.5 (%) for Shape 2, and 3 (%) for Shape 3.

SYNTHESIZING FRFS
To illustrate the use of MEscopeVES for single and multiple reference curve fitting, we will start with a set of known
modal parameters so that we can check the answers. This
data is listed in Figure 3.

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Entering Residues
Next, the residue values in Figure 3 will be entering into the
magnitude & phase cells in the Shapes spreadsheet.

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Select the Magnitude cell of Shape 1 and M#1 (the

first measurement). Type 1 and press the Enter key
twice. The cursor should be in the Magnitude cell of
Shape 2 and M#1. Since its value is already 0, press

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the Enter key twice to move to Shape 3. Type -1 and

press Enter.

Now, press Enter enough times to move the cursor to

the Shape 1 and M#2. Type .5 and press Enter twice.

Continue in this manner to enter all of the residues into

the Shape Table from Figure 1.

Notice that all negative residues are converted to positive

magnitudes and phases = 180.

Units
Next, the Units should be entered all DOFs (M#s) of the
mode shapes. If the Units column is not visible in the
Shapes spreadsheet,

Right click on the spreadsheet columns area of the

spreadsheet. The File | Options box will open, showing
the Spreadsheet Columns tab. Check the box in front
of Units, and click on OK.

Double click on the Units column heading. A dialog

box will open. Enter in/lbf-sec, and click on OK.

Setup the DOF generator as shown above, and click on

OK to fill in the DOFs column.

Shape DOFs

Measurement Type

Either M#4 or M#5 could be a driving point measurement,

since all of the modal residues have the same sign. We
will choose M#5 as the driving point. The driving point
also corresponds the fixed reference column in the FRF matrix.

Finally, to define the shape values in the spreadsheet as residues,

Double click on the Measurement Type column heading. A dialog box will open.

Make sure all of the DOFs are unselected.

Double click on the DOF column heading. The DOF

generator dialog box will open.

Select Residue mode shape from the list in the dialog

box and click on OK.

The Shape Table should look like the one in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Shape Table Containing Modal Parameters (3 modes, 5 measurements).

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SINGLE REFERENCE FRF SYNTHESIS

To synthesize a single reference set of FRFs using the modal
data in the Shape Table,

Execute the Tools | Synthesize FRFs command in the

Shape Table window. The Synthesize FRFs dialog box
will open. Change the Block Size to 500 samples, and
the Ending Frequency to 100 Hz in this box.

Select all of the DOFs and click on OK.

Figure 5. Five Synthesized FRFs

Another dialog box will open, allowing you to name the

new Data Block file. Enter Single Reference FRFs
and click on OK.

Execute the Format | Rows/Columns command and

select (5, 1) to display all of the FRFs, as shown in Figure 5.

Press the Count Peaks button to build the Mode Peaks

function and count its peaks. A dialog box will open.
Click on OK to display the Mode Indicator below the
FRFs and count its peaks.

The Mode Peaks function shows three peaks (with red

dots), indicating three modes. The Modal Peaks function
was obtained by summing together the Imaginary parts of
the data from all of the Traces.

SINGLE REFERENCE CURVE FITTING

To curve fit these measurements,

Execute the Modes | Modal Parameters command.

The curve fitting panel will open.

Number of Modes

Figure 6. Modal Peaks Showing 3 Peaks.

The first and most important step in curve fitting is to determine how many mode peaks (resonance curves) are present in a frequency band. In MEscopeVES, Mode Indicator
functions will assist you in making this determination.

Move the band cursor to enclose the peaks in the middle of the measurements.

Suppose that we had summed the Real Parts instead of the

Imaginary Parts.

Press the Count Peaks button again. This time select

Real Part in the dialog box, and click on OK.

Notice that this Modal Peaks function has 4 peaks in it, giving a false indication that 4 modes are present.

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Rules for Using Mode Indicators

1.

Imaginary peaks should be summed when the FRFs

have acceleration or displacement responses.

2.

Real peaks should be summed when the FRFs have

velocity responses.

3.

In all cases it is safe to sum the Magnitudes of the

FRFs, although these peaks may not be as sharp as the
Imaginary or Real peaks.

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Notice that the last three modes are selected, though. Residue curve fitting can proceed since only the selected modes
will be used.

To sum the magnitudes,

Press the Count Peaks button again. This time select

Magnitude in the dialog box, and click on OK.

This sum again shows three peaks, indicating 3 modes.

Estimating Frequency & Damping

To estimate frequency & damping, the Modes box must be
set equal to at least the number of resonance peaks in the
cursor band. Of course, if it is set higher that the actual
number, parameters for extra computational modes will
usually end up in the modal parameters spreadsheet. These
computational modes must then be deleted from the spreadsheet.
In this case, we already know that there are three modes in
the set of FRFs. In real world situations, the number of
modes in a frequency band may not be apparent.

Press the F & D button on the 2. Frequency & Damping tab, and click on YES to estimate modal frequencies & damping for three modes.

Figure 7. Two Sets of Frequency & Damping Estimates.

Press the Residues button on the 3. Residues & Save

Shapes tab, and click on YES to begin residue curve
fitting.

After the curve fitting is finished, scroll through the

FRFs and check the residue estimates. They should
match the parameters in Figure 3.

A fit function is also displayed on top of each FRF, but you

may not be able to distinguish the two curves if the band
cursors are turned OFF. To view the fit functions,

Execute the Curve Fit | Clear Fit Functions command,

turn the band cursors ON, and press the Residues button again.

When curve fitting has finished, frequency & damping estimates for three modes will be listed in the parameters
spreadsheet. To use the entire frequency range of the FRF
data,

When curve fitting has finished, now you can see the red fit
function laid on top of the FRFs in the cursor band.

Turn the band cursors OFF and press the F & D button
again. A second set of frequency & damping estimates
for the three modes will be listed.

Since the FRF data is linear and noiseless, curve fitting

yields the same modal parameter estimates even when different bands of data are used.

Estimating Residues
Once a set of modes has been defined in the modal parameter spreadsheet, modal residues can be estimated by a second curve fitting step. The spreadsheet currently contains
two estimates for each mode, but only one frequency &
damping estimate is needed.

Press the CoQuad, Bode & Nyquist display buttons to

view the various parts of the measurements and fit functions.

Saving Shapes
Once the residues are estimated, they can be saved in a
Shape Table.

Press the Save Shapes button and choose OK. A dialog box will open, containing a list of current Shape
Table files.

Press the New File button. A dialog box will open.

Enter Single Ref Fit for the file name, and click on
OK.

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Now click on OK to save the shapes in the Single Ref

Fit.SHP file.

Execute the Curve Fit | Close command to terminate

curve fitting.

Close the Single Ref Fit.SHP window.

In the Three Close Modes.SHP window, execute Tools

| Scaling | Unit Modal Mass.

Execute Tools | Synthesize FRFs. The Synthesize

FRFs dialog box will open. Change the Block Size to
500 samples, and the Ending Frequency to 100 Hz in
this box.

Select all Roving DOFs and all Reference DOFs, and

click on OK.

MULTIPLE REFERENCE CURVE FITTING

In MEscopeVES, multiple reference curve fitting proceeds
in the same way as single reference curve fitting. The only
difference is in how the residues are finally saved as shapes.
Since multiple rows or columns of FRFs provide redundant
estimates of residues, (and hence mode shapes), only those
residue estimates that yield the most accurate mode shape
estimates should be saved.

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In general, the most accurate residue estimates for a mode

will come from the row or column of FRFs were the modal
resonance peaks are the largest, and hence the residues are
the largest. This will usually be the row or column with the
largest mode strength. This condition is also expressed as
the largest driving point residue or modal participation
factor.
First, we will synthesize an entire (5 by 5) FRF matrix using
the original modal parameters. In order to do this, the Residue mode shapes must be re-scaled to Unit Modal Mass
mode shapes.

Figure 8. Synthesized 5 by 5 FRF Matrix.

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Enter the file name Multi Reference FRFs into the

dialog box, and click on OK.

Execute the Format | Rows/Columns command, and

select (5, 5) to display the matrix of FRFs.

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The 25 synthesized FRFs are shown in Figure 8.

Nodal Points
From the original modal data (Figure 3), we know that there
are two references (rows/columns) where one of the modes
is at a nodal point.

In the first row/column (reference 1Z), the second

mode is at a nodal point.

In the third row/column (reference 3Z), the first mode

is at a nodal point.

Figure 9. Freq & Damp From FRF Columns 1 & 3.

Therefore, if we were to curve fit either of these references

alone, we would only find two modes. However, if we curve
fit both the first & third row/columns together, we should
find all three modes.
In the other three row/columns, all three modes are present,
so we would expect any one or all of them to yield valid
modal parameter estimates for all three modes.

Curve Fitting the First & Third Columns

To begin curve fitting using only the measurements from
reference DOFs 1Z & 3Z, (where two modes are at nodal
points),

Execute Edit | Select | by Reference DOF. A dialog

box will open. Select 1Z & 3Z from the list, and click
on OK.
Drag the Blue Vertical Bar to the left to display the
Traces spreadsheet.

Notice that the FRFs for Reference DOFs 1Z & 3Z are selected.

Execute Modes | Modal Parameters to reopen the

Curve Fitting panel.

Press the Count Peaks button to form the Modal Peaks

function using the Imaginary parts of the 10 selected
Traces.

Enter a 3 in the Modes box. (We know there are three

modes even though Modal Peaks counting didnt find
them.)

Press the F & D button. Click on YES to estimate frequency & damping for three modes from these 10 measurements.

The frequency & damping estimates are shown in Figure 9.

So, by curve fitting these two references together, valid frequency & damping estimates were found for all three modes.

Using All Of The References

Next, we will use all 5 references of FRF data to estimate
frequency & damping.

Double click on the Select column heading in the Trace

spreadsheet to unselect all of the Traces.

Press the Count Peaks button to build the Modal Peaks

function from all of the FRFs.

Notice that when all of the references are used, three peaks
appear in the Modal Peaks function.

Press the F & D button again.

As expected, curve fitting all of the FRFs yields correct frequency & damping estimates for the three modes.

Notice that only two resonance peaks are indicated in the

Modal Peaks function.

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Saving Mode Shapes

To save shapes from the multi-reference curve fitting results,

Press the Save Shapes button. A dialog box will open,

displaying the modal participation factors for all modes
and all references.

This dialog box is only opened when the DOFs among the
selected Traces contain multiple references (row/columns of
the FRF matrix).

Figure10. Frequency & Damping From All FRFs.

Estimating Residues
Residues are the constant numerator terms of the FRF matrix, when it is written in partial fraction expansion form.
Therefore, each mode has a residue matrix associated with
it, which is symmetric just like the FRF matrix. Furthermore, every row & column of a modal residue matrix contains the mode shape. Therefore, every row or column can
be used as the mode shape.
After residues have been estimated from a set of multireference FRFs, mode shapes should be saved for those references where the best residue estimates were obtained. In
general, the best residue estimates for each mode will come
from the reference where the mode is the strongest (its
driving point residue or the modal participation factor has
the largest magnitude).
A driving point FRF is one where the Input DOF equals the
Output DOF. In the (5 by 5) FRF matrix shown in Figure 8,
the driving point FRFs are the diagonal elements, and these
measurements yield driving point residues.
Once a valid list of modes has been obtained in the modal
parameter spreadsheet, modal residues can be obtained by
curve fitting any row or column of FRFs, or all FRFs.
To estimate residues for each mode and all references,

Make sure that modes 4 through 6 are selected in the

modal parameters spreadsheet.

Press the Residues button on the 3. Residues & Save

Shapes tab, and click on YES to begin residue curve
fitting.

After the curve fitting is finished, you can scroll through the
Traces, and check the residue estimates for each Trace.

Figure 11. Multi-Ref Save Shapes Dialog Box.

From this dialog box (Figure 10), the following is clear,
1.

The 50 Hz mode has its strongest participation at references 1Z or 5Z.

2.

The 52 Hz mode has its strongest participation at reference 5Z.

3.

The 55 Hz mode has its strongest participation at reference 1Z.

4.

The 50 Hz mode does not participate at reference 3Z.

(3Z is a node point for this mode.)

5.

The 52 Hz mode does not participate at reference 1Z.

(1Z is a node point for this mode.)

MAC Comparison
Before pressing the OK button, you can also compare mode
shapes from two different references numerically by displaying their MAC value.

MAC = 1.0 means the two mode shapes are identical.

0.9 < MAC < 1.0 means the two mode shapes are similar to one another.

MAC =< 0.9 means the two mode shapes are substantially different from one another.

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To display the MAC value for two different references,

Depress the participation factor buttons for the two reference DOFs and the same mode.

NOTE: Since these FRFs are linear and noise-free, MAC =

1 for all pairs of non-zero shapes.
To save a mode shape for a particular reference,

Depress the participation button in the spreadsheet for

the mode and reference you want saved, and click on
OK. The Shape Table selection box will open.

Press the New File button. A dialog box will open,

allowing you to name the new file.

Enter Multiple Ref Shapes and click on OK.

CHECKING THE CURVE FITTING RESULTS

To compare the curve fitting results with the original modal
parameters used to synthesize the FRFs,

Close all windows except the Three Close Modes.SHP

and Multiple Ref Shapes.SHP windows.

Execute Windows | Tile Horizontally.

Execute Display | Shapes | Magnitude/Phase in both

windows.

The two Shape Tables should contain the same modal parameters. To recover the Residue mode shapes (original
parameters in Figure 3.), do the following in both windows,
Execute Tools | Scaling | Residues. A dialog box will
open. Select 5Z and click on OK.

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