El AUN by T.G. Carne and E.C. Stasiunas LESSONS LEARNED IN MODAL TESTING—PART 3 TRANSIENT EXCITATION FOR MODAL TESTING, MORE THAN JUST HAMMER IMPACTS ‘hen a modal testis performed on a structure or system, the objective is to measure data from ‘which the modal parameters—modal frequen- cies, damping factors, and mode shapes—can be estimated. There are many types ofdata that can be used to estimate these model parameters based on the assumption that the tested structure ean be modeled as linear. For exiam- ple, time responses or spectra derived from the time responses can be used even without measurement of the input excita- tion, commonly referred to as the natural excitation tech- ‘nique* or operational modal analysis.” However, by far, the ‘most typieal data used for parameter estimation are’ fre- ‘quency response functions (FR), which use excitation input and the corresponding output of the test stracture.* ‘Transient excitation is an input of short duration relative to the measured time record in contrast to random or sine inputs. The versatility of transient excitation techniques allows for several advantages over typical vibration shaker ‘input. Quick diagnostics of structures with short sotup times are possible. The input frequeney spectrum is generally fat and can range from less than ten to a million hertz, High- amplitude inputs are achievable as well. Finally, the scalabi ity of transient excitation is quite good; tested structures ean ‘range from very small to very large in size ‘This study examines some common, and not so common, tech- niques for the transient excitation of structures in order to obtain modal parameters, either from measured FRFs or sim- ply from the measured response data. The techniques dis. cussed in this study include hammer impacts, projectile ‘impacts, explosive inputs, step relaxation, and base excita- tion, This is certainly not an exhaustive list; many other exci- tation methods exist, limited only by imagination and creativity. Successful appliestions of each technique will be discussed, along with their corresponding strength and limi- tations. In addition, some data processing issues of concern when using transient excitation will be briefly discussed, ‘Editor’ Note: BP launchd anew Potare Sars ied Cas Landa Nal ‘eating, There re many ory wfl proce oespl tha wl bepravntd in le seresofpopers that ar writen ym wl on pipe th out mabe af urs of eprine madl ttn. The prt sr bon wh oso he ret eplcatons of tring flat by an arse an dviding Ose Sig ‘alts nsrumerdation Th next reorder haw atone impet on (rani extaton nd offi ue mada hare. The a art il define 401 ways to err mal pormetre. Tienes Feature Sree iltates te complement ofthe lationship etsen SEM MAC and the Annual Spring (Canfranc membership and thr expr. The papers nts ar eed {rom sesso organized ot IMAC XXII by Dave nto ATA Eine Serie ‘doe: Dr. Ptr Anibile Drtr, Modal nan ond Cantal Lara riser of Masachusets, Lawl and Kite B. Zimmerman, General Matar 120. Corte (SEM Member and. Stsiunos (EM Mente) are membre ofthe Telnet at Sana Nail Laborers Sandal malaga abe tory peated by Sandia Cparetion, a Lecthaed Martin Cpe, fr fhe United Stee Departmen of Bn Notonal Naser erry emia under Cotraet DEACDESCALSS000),Albuquargs, hi 101225 27356 apae ao Sl, Sc fr permet asain HAMMER IMPACTS ‘The most commonly used method of transient excitation for ‘modal testing is the impact hammer. Infact, this study would be considered incomplete without the discussion of this tech- nique. The idea of exciting a structure with an impact ham- mer is actually very simple—one strikes a structure at a particular location and in a particular direction with an impact hammer. Instrumented with a force transducer located behind the tip, the impacthammer measures the foree used to excite the structure, The foree input and eorrespond- ing responses are then used to compute the FRFs. When per- {forming modal testing with impact hammers, multiple impact data set6 are measured and averaged, redueing the amount of noise inthe computed FRF. The response to a hammer impact is an approximation of the impulse response function, although in actual applications, the impact is not assumed to be instantaneous but is measured and transformed into the frequency domain and used to compute the FRPs.“* ‘The most important issue when using impact hammer excita- tion is the choice of hammer mass and tip stiffness. These parameters determine the impact duration, which conse- ‘quently determines the frequency content of the input. When impacting the test structure, the input frequeney content should be sufficient to excite only the modes in the frequency range of interest. Exciting above the frequency range of intar- est should be avoided as the undesired response will All the dynamic range of the measurement system and more than likely obseure the desired information. A rule of thumb for determining input frequency content is the input magnitude begins to roll off significantly at frequencies exceeding the inverse of the impact duration. A fairly diverse set of typical ‘impact hammers, ranging from peneil sized to sledgehammer sized, are shown in Fig. 1. These hammers all inelude addi- tional masses that can be attached for added hammer mass ‘and various material tips such as rubber, plastic, and steel for ‘the control of the impact duration Hammer impact testing has some very distinct advantages. ‘The input spectrum from the impact is lat out to the roll-off frequency with no holes in the spectrum. The technique can be very efficient and portable compared to the aligning and mov- ing of shakers and their associated eontrol systems. Relatively ‘small numbers of averages, as low as three to six, are sufl- cient to reduce noise in the calculated FRF. Finally, for lightly damped, linear test structures, hammer impact esting can result in very high-quality FREs, To illustrate these advan- tages, some examples of successful hammer impact tests will be discussed subsequently. ‘The first example ofthe impact hammer techniqueisareentry vehicle mounted on a rocket payload plate, then supported by aseismic mass, as shown in Fig. 2, Only the first two bending modes in two directions, plus an axial mode, were required Mer/sJone 2006 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 69Various impact hammers—from pencil size to sledgehammer size from this test article. The very light-damping of the reentry vehicle allowed for easy and fast testing with an instrumented impact mallet. Another lightly damped structure with virtu- ally no joints is shown in Fig. 8. This earth penetrator struc ‘ure was easily and quickly excited using impact hammer techniques, resulting in high-quality, noise-free FRFS. As seen in the figure, the penetrator has been supported by soft Dbungee eords, simulating free boundary eonditions, An FRF ‘measured from the penetrator, displaying frequency content up to 2000 Hz, is shown in Fig. 4. A small amousit of noise is observed in the FRF but would not pose a problem when esti mating the modal parameters ofthe structure. A monolithic support structure containing very highefrequeney modes is shown in the photograph of Fig. 8. This structure was excited with a pencil-sized impact hammer, resulting in sufficiontly high-frequeney input. The strings used for sus pension ofthe test item are visible onthe top ofthe structure, and the single lightweight accelerometer used for response measurements can be seen mounted on the forward side of the structure, This particular example illustrates another advantage of impact testing. Using the reciprocity relation ship of the FRF matrix, the hammer impact location can “rove? around the structure, leaving the transducer fixed in place. In this ease, a row of the FRF matrix is measured, rather than a column, Because of reciprocity, however, they are identical. This roving hammer technique allows for a very (quick modal test, requiring one or very few response trans ducers. In addition, this technique reduces hoth the trans ducer mass loading effects and the time required to mount an equivalent full set of transducers. ‘The final example of hammer impact testing isa massive structure, containing just afew connection joints. A60-m-long wind turbine blade lifted by a erane for tower attachment, is, shown in Fig. 6. The blade is curved, 44 m from tip to tip, and 60m along its axis. Modal testing of this blade was performed in the blade assembly building, with the blade supported by 2 number of soft bungee cords. The massive struckure eon tained very low natural frequencies and light damping, with the first bonding mode found well below 1 Hz, Hammer impact testing was used for this blade, slong with numerous highly 10 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES May/June 2005 ig. 2: Hammer impact testing of reentry vehicle sensitive accelerometers capable of measuring the low-ampli- tude, low-frequency response. In the previous examples, hammer impact excitation worked quite well, resulting in high-quality, measured FRFs. One feature that all the example structures had in common was Jow damping and inherent linearity. With high damping, the impact response is quickly diminished, reducing the informa- tion available in the response measurement. Highly damped Fig. 3: Hammer impact testing of earth penetrator[net EXaIAMeNiicelthvely Nusa Te aecslerationiforee a a, a. fraquoncy (Hz) Fig. 4: Typical impact hammer FRF measured from earth penetrator structures ean be difficult to test using the hammer tech- rigue, although good results can still be obtained under cer- tain conditions. Significant structural damping may indicate nonlinearities present in the structure as well. For example, a common cause of high damping in structures is joint interaction or joint slid- ing, which is a large source of nonlinear behavior in struc- tures, In this ease, the application of impact testing, hhammer or otherwise, is not advisable, In fact, even small nonlinearities ean eause problems for any impact testing tech- nique. The impact excites the structure initially at high levels and then the response damps down to very low levels, result ing in data from multiple structural statas, all in one FRF ‘measurement: This can create very confusing data with mul- tiple modal frequencies showing up for the same mode. For structures with any significant nonlinear behavior, random Fig. 5: Roving hammer impact testing of monolithic structure ‘0200 40009 F000 1200 a0” Tea TeN0 P00 ae ses Fig. &: Wind turbine blade tested with hammer impact excitation or step sine testing, provided with a shaker, will yield the best results forthe linear model of the system, Ran- ‘dom excitation will be discussed in further detail in a subse- (quent article for this feature series. PROJECTILE IMPACTS In some scenarios, the test structure may be too small in size or too delicate in nature for exitation with an impact bammer. Using a hammer may result in double impacts or even dam- age tothe test structure itself In addition to these concaras, the impact hammer may not excite the higher frequency rmades of interest for a small or lightweight test structure. Furthermore, very larg structures may require a very high- frequency or &high-free input as well. Far these two concerns— testing small, lightweight strictures requiring high-frequency input or testing larger structures requiring large magnitude, high-frequency input—projctile impacts may be the best method for transient exctatos As the name suggests, projectile impacts involve exciting test structures with a projectile, such as a ball bearing or a steel rod. This excitation technique can result in much higher fre- 4queney content than possible with an impact hammer due to the very small length projectiles used. For example, past expe- rience has demonstrated that excitation frequencies up to May/June 2008. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES TIEXCITATION FOR/MODAL TESTING 60 kElz, with a flat input spectrum, are achievable. The high- frequency input spectrum is one of the major advantages for ‘using projectile impacts. ‘The foremost disadvantage of this technique is the inability {for a direct measurement of the input forco applied by the projectile. To counter this, ealeulations prior to testing ean ‘be used to determine a number of parameters: the size, mass, ‘and geometry of the projectile and the impact velocity and duration. In some cases, trial and error ean bo used just as well, depending on the test environment. Subsequently, there isa loss of control when applying projec- tile impacts. When using an impact hammer, itis fairly easy ‘o consistently impact the same point on the test structure repeatedly. With projecile impacts, the repeatability and con- ‘rol depend on the accuracy of the firing and-aiming mecha- nism, whether itbe a gas gun ora simple soda straw, as willbe *. seen in the following examples. ‘Because this excitation method is often applied to small, light- ‘weight structures, mass loading effects of accelerometers or similar transducors must be considered. In this case, noncon- ‘act transducers work best for measuring the output response ‘rom the projectile input. Some examples of noncontact trans- ducers available are laser Doppler velocimeters, microphones, and variable capacitance proximity transducers. ‘The first example of projectile impact testing isthe very small, lightweight test structure shown in Fig. 7. Consisting of 1 gold-plated quartz crystal suspended at four comers in an aluminum disk, this structure is quite small, very light- weight, and delicate as indicated by the relative size of the pen tip shown in the figure. Ifimpacted with a modal hammer, the test item would more than likely experienes structural damage. Furthermore, the first natural frequency was esli- rated to be above 10.0 kHz—very difficult to excite with an {impact hammer. For these reasons, it was determined that projectile impacts would be used to excite the structure, The projectile in this ease was a small ball bearing approximately (0.8 mm in diameter (0.017 g). A soda straw was used to aim the projectile at the quartz erystal. When the bearing exited Fig. 7: Projectile impact testing of quartz crystal structure Th. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES ay Je 205 the straw, it would strike the erystal and bounce of, providing transient, high-frequency excitation to the structure. Tilting the soda’straw with respect to the surface of the crystal assured that double impacts did not occur. The transient response of the quartz crystal was measured with a noncon- ‘acting proximity sonsor. ‘The response of the quartz crystal due tothe projectile impact, measured by the proximity sensor, is shown in Fig. & The transiont nature of the response is observed in the data in addition to the lack of a double hit, which would more than likely occur if an impact hammer was used on such a small ‘tem. As opposed to an FRF, the autospectrum of the response due to an unmeasured input is shown in Fig. 9. From the computed data, it ean be seen that frequency content exists up to approximately 64 kHz. In addition, resonances of the quartz crystal test structure can be clearly identified at 11.3, 14.3, 28.7, and 62.3 KHz. ‘The provious example illustrated the usefulness of projectile {impacts on small, lightweight structures. However, as previ- ously mefitioned, this technique can also be used on large structures if one needs high-frequency content or high-force levels unattainable with an impaet hammer. In a large-scale example, the frequency response of a 500-4, stel eylinder ‘was required for frequencies up to 10.0 kHz, while the amp ‘ude of the impulsive force was required to exceed 50,000 N. ‘To accomplish this, the cylinder was first suspended with straps and bungee cords fo simulate a free boundary condi- tion, A gas gun was then used to fire a projectile at one end of the eylinder, as shown in Fig. 10. This particular test setup allowed for the measurement of the input foree, using strain sages adhered to the projectile, The structural response was ‘measured with accelerometers mounted onto the test item. ‘Measuring the input and output response allowed for the development of FRFs, with modes visible up to 10.0 kHe ‘These projectile input examples are perhaps two examples from both ends ofthe application range. The major advantage of projectile inputs is the high-frequency input content. Very low or very high transient input forces are also an advantage 26 ; : Vitiitrosseanaren Fig. 8: Projectile impact time history of quartz crystalPee aa me llialihial EXCITATION FOR MODAL TESTING ake: 8 aris UVOLTS (ems) asi eae Be an wo wae om ee kHz, Fig. 9: Projectile impact autospectral density of quartz erystal of projectiles due to the range of masses and velocities avail- able, Difficaltly in measuring the input foree and a lack of precise impact location control are significant disadvantages ofthis technique. EXPLOSIVE IMPACTS Explosive impacis may be required if extremely high-re quency transient excitation is desired. Two widely used methods at Sandia National Laboratories are the explosive “rods-over- foam? (ROF) and the light-initiated high explosive (LIHE) ‘techniques. Both methods use explosives to excite test struc- ‘tures with vory high-amplitude forees for an extremely short ‘uration, These impacts are useful because they excite struc- tures at their environmental level and fully test the linearity of the structure, while still providing an input for modal anal- ysis applications. The ROF provides a longer duration burn, resulting in a lower frequency input than the LIE, which excites frequencies up to the MHz range. AAs the name suggests, the explosive ROF technique consists of positioning an array of very thin, explosive rods over a paly- Fig. 10: Projectile impact of cylindrical tes structure urethane foam, which is then placed an the test structure, The configuration of the explosive rods determines the impulse loading distribution experienced hy the test item during ign. tion. The foam located between the rods and the structure smoothes out the explosive shock wave front, resulting in a high-level, transient excitation.® ‘An example configuration of ROP explosive rods is shown in Fig. IL. Inside the yellow tape border, six gray explosive rods are arranged vertically. An L-inch-thick layer of foam mate- rial, located underneath the rods, isnot visile inthe figure, ‘This entire ROF configuration is attached to an aluminum blast shield more than a halfinch thick. The blast shield con- ‘tains a through-hole, sized to allow the explosives to impact ‘only the area of interest on the test structure, thereby pre- venting undesirable side-loading. This area is the square area ‘marked by the red outline in the figure Positioned on the opposite side ofthe blast shield isthe test structure, as shown in Fig. 12. This particular struebure con- sisted of an aluminum case with two stainless steel masses encapsulated in white, structural foam. The acceleration response to the explosive impact was measured with acceler- ‘ometers attached to the test item. Only the section of the test item that is flush with the blast shield experienced the impact from the explosive rods due to the through-hole present in the shield. ‘The transient acceleration time history acquired from the ‘ROF test setup, shown in Fig. 12, for bvo ofthe accelerometer channels is shown in Fig. 18. The data show a peak accelera- tion response of 1500 gs for the outer ease as a result of the ROF excitation, The autospecral density, calculated from the time history, is shown in Fig. 14. In the autospeetrum, valid Fig. Il: Explosive ROF shcrod test setup ‘May/June 2008, EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES. 73EXCITATION FOR MODAL TESTING Fig. (2: Explosive excitation setup of test structure measured data and resonances of the test structure ean be seen in frequencies up to 25 kHz For explosive impacts with even higher frequency content ‘than the ROF technique, the LIHE technique is required, Seiting up for an LTHE excitation testis an intensive process that comprises several steps. Fist, a thin layer ofa light-sensitive ‘explosive is sprayed directly onto the desired area ofimpact of the test structure. Once dried, the test structure is exposed to high-energy light, The explosive paint is then tiggored, resulting in a high-pressure blast.’ A conical test structure undergoing an LIHE explosive impact is shown in Fig. 15. ‘The major benefit ofboth explosive excitation methods is the high level, short duration of the input and the corresponding extremely high-frequency content, Also, the ability to modify the distribution and thiclmness of the LIFE spray-on explosive in order to obtain the desired input levels and pressure dis- ‘tribution isa significant advantage. In this manner, acceler- ation responses ranging from thousands of gs to tens of 1020 | Aecolaration @ ‘0 Goes Gor amis Gas time 620) Explosive ROF acceleration time history 74. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES. Moy/Jun 2006, os is | Froquency (2) a Fig. 14: Explosive ROF autospectral density thousands of gs have been obtained with frequeney content vp to the MHz range. ‘The major disadvantage of the explosive excitation is the lack of a measured input fore although the explosives designers Fig. 15: Explosive excitation using LIHE technique(re ES 8 EXCITATION FOR MODAL TESTING are able to compute the total impulse fairly accurately. In addition, the detailed explosive loading conditions are dificult to characterize and are typically very turbulent and random, However, these explosive methods may be the only way to obtain the extremely high-amplitude responses with very short duration inputs, STEP RELAXATION Step relaxation isa very powerful but seldom used excitation technique for formal modal analysis, although it is used extensively for informal tests. A step relaxation input is basi- cally a pluck to the structure—an initial deformation cenforeed upon a test structure and then rapidly released, Every time guitar string'or cantilever beam is plucked, the step relaxation technique is performed. In contrast to impact excitations that have very flat Fourier spectrums lest: ing out to their roll-off frequency, the Fourier spectrum of the step input rolls off similar to Vie. Consequently, step input is extremely well suited for low-frequency systems." Applying a step input to a structure is simple in design. Typ- ically, a wire or string is attached to the test structure, with the free end anchored to the ground and tightened, enforcing the required deformation. Once preloaded, the wire is abruptly released or cut, resulting in stop input excitation. Ina subsequent example, a 1.9-cm-diamoter steel cable was used to provide deformation to a 110-m-tall wind turbine. For release, explosive cutters were used on the cable. One requirement of step relaxation is the need for a foree transducer as part of the enforced deformation mechanism, ‘This input foree must be measured in order to compute the input-output FRF. The force transducer can be attached to the structure, on the structure side ofthe step release, or on the «ground side of the step release. Ideally, one would want: the ‘transducer attached to the structure in order to sense all the {orees applied during the cable release, Because this is not always practical, the foree transducer is typically mounted to the anchor of the step input. Furthermore, the transducer needs to have a froquoney response dawn ta DC in order to ‘monitor the applied force A caveat exists when working with really large step relaxa- tion forces; itis essential that the structure is nat damaged by the applied deformation load. Because the applied force is static, this concern can be addressed by caleulating these resulting stresses using a model prior tothe test to make sure that the structure does not experience averstress or damage during the test, ‘A major advantage of step relaxation is that it is basically @ noncontact excitation method; after the enforced deforma- tion is released, there is no attachment to the excitation sys- tem. Step relaxation also scales very easily to large or small structures. As will be discussed in the application examples, step inputs have been used to excite both 110-m-tall wind turbines using 130,000 N (80,000 lbs) and small flexible 0.5- slong robot arms using fractions ofa Newton. The scalability of step relaxation serves a critical need when there is 8 requirement for very large forces that would not typically be available from excitation shakers, ‘An additional advantage of step relaxation is the possible application of the technique during operating conditions. Typ. ically, this can be done if the force application mechanism is fairly lightweight as compared tothe tast structure itself and if'the mechanism can be installed without interference to the operation ofthe structure, ‘The major disadvantage of step relaxation is the time required to implement the technique; itis not as simple as using an impact hammer. Of course, if the test structure requires 100,000 N of excitation, no technique will provide «a speedy process. In contrast, even though the setup may be lengthy and present a logistical challenge, the advantage is that few averages are generally required in order to obtain reasonably good FRFs. Wind turbines have been a popular example ofthe application af the step relaxation technique. The Bole vertical axis wind turbine, erected in northeast Qudbee, stands at 110 tall and is shown in Fig. 16. The turbine rotates about its vertical axis, defined by the central tower, generating electricity in the pro- cess, Ths is traly a massive structure with blade chords of 2.5 mm and a tower diameter of 5 m; howover, itis also a very flexible structure with its frst mode at 0.4 He, Using a finite clement model of the structure, it was ealeulated that sull- cient excitation would require 130,000 N applied to the tower and 40,000 N applied io the blades. Furthermore, i was deter ‘mined that these static forees would nat damage the turbine. A crane was used to attach eables to the wind turbine, as shown in the figure. Clearly, the attachment process was time ES f i WZ we OS Fig. 16: The Eole vertical axis wind turbine ‘May(‘une 2006 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 75IAs eu consuming, a common disadvantage with this technique. A force transducer was placed in-line with the cable and was located at ground level for ease of maintenance and to prevent the transdueer from flailing around with the loose cable. An FRF measured for the Bole turbine, using just five repeated step relaxation inputs for averaging, is shown in Fig. 17. The data show frequencies ranging from 0.4 to 4.0 Hz, Twelve modes existing below 2.5 Hz were excited and extracted from the two inputs on the tower and the blade. Some noise is evident in the FRF, but the quality is clearly sufficient to perform modal analysis on the data. The small ‘amount of noise is impressive considering that the test data ‘were collected in the field at'2 location where the winds constantly blow, providing additional unmeasured input excitation. ‘An actual release ofa preloaded cable for a smaller wind tur- bine located in California is shown in Fig. 18. In this example, the steel eable was released with a manual quick Telease ‘mechanism, so the use of eable eutters was not required. Note that on release, the highly tensioned steel cable reels signif- icantly toward the structure. To avoid damaging the struc- ture, a restraining mechanism must be used. A high-strain ‘capacity nylon cord was used in this case to absorb the kinetic energy of the steel strap. ‘Another wind turbine excited with step relaxation is shown in Fig. 19. In this example, the modes of the wind turbine ‘were measured during operation. While rotating, the modal properties of the turbine change considerably. Clearly, it ‘would be most dificult to excite this structure under rotation using conventional techniques; using step relaxation simply requires some inventiveness. A small, blac steel cable ean be seen running from the eentral tower to one of the blades as shown in the figure. The preloaded condition provided by the cable was completely self-contained within the structure, with nothing connected to the ground. After the turbine was ‘brought to steady rotation speeds, ranging from 100 to 800 rpm, the preloaded cable was remotely released, resulting in step relaxation excitation, with accelerometers and strain ‘gages measuring the response of the blade and tower." L0G MAGNITUDE Lr oa FREQUENCY (Hy %0 Fig. 17: Step relaxation FRF measured from Eole turbine 16 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES May/June 208 Fig. 18 Step relaxation technique for vertical axis wind turbine A small, very lexible robot arm that required modal testing is shown in Fig. 20. The arms of this robot were so light and flexible that shakers could not be connected without altering the structure, In addition, hammer impact techniques eould not be used hecause the flexible robot arm would spring back ‘too quickly, resulting in multiple impacts with the hammer. Due to these problems, and in spite of the amount of time ‘required, step relaxation was used on this structure. A thin string was attached to various locations on the arm and pre- loaded, Release ofthe string was performed with scissors. The resulting step inputs sueceeded in exciting the robot arms. One of the measured FRMs is shown in Fig. 21, where the ‘experimental data are indicated by the solid line and the esti- ‘mated modal parameter synthesis is indicated by the plus signs. Clearly, the modal parameters were estimated quite well using the measured FRF data. Note that the robot arm was also a very low-frequency system, with its first mode below 2.0 Hz, Applying step relaxation requires a discussion of a very sig- nifleant signal processing issue, The force from a stop input is ideally a classie step function, with a constant force beginning in the past, then suddenly dropping to zero within the test ‘window. The issue lies in using the FFT to process the input ‘time domain signal; the FFT assumes that the step input is 1 square wave, Essentially, the step function is not totally observable within the sample window. An example of a step ‘input function and the resulting FFT magnitude are shown in Figs. 22 and 23. In the input spectrum, very large holes, or zeros, are prosent. Even more troublesome is that the fre; quency of theso holes is dependent on the step duration. ? ‘This situation makes the original input step force unusableEXCITATION FOR MODAL TESTING Fig. 1% Step relaxation of operating wind turbine for FRF calculation. However, itis known that the Fourier transform ofthe step function is theoretically 1), so.atech- nique is required that allows processing of the input step fe. ‘The solution to this signal procession issue ean be handled ‘most easily but requires a bit of forethought, IPboth the arig- inal step input and the resulting responses are passed through matched high-pass filters with a low cuba fre- ‘quency, perhaps at 0.3 He (et, use an AC coupling eireut), ‘then the input step funetion actually converts to a negative spike, similar to an impact test. The filtered time domain function of the original step input, when passed through 1-00-92} 1-90-62 19681 Fig. 21: Step relaxation FRF of robot arm, « high-pass filter with cutoff of 0.8 Hz, is shown in Fig. 24 An FFT ofthe filtered signal is shown in Fig, 25. The resulting FPT is very well behaved and is consequently easy to use for RF computation and the averaging of repeat tests. Despite the drastic change caused by filtering the time domain step, it is amazing that the resulting true frequeney content will be ‘unchanged above 0.3 He. In fact, this representation of the foree signal is compatible with all signal processing techni- (ques used for impact testing including force windows, nega- five exponential windows, and pretriggering, In summary, step relaxation results in an input spectrum that behaves similar to (Va), making this technique particularly applicable to low-frequency structures, As with impact testing, step inputs work best with lightly damped, linear structures; the input does not work well for structures with significant nonlinearities or slipping joints. Scalability is possible with step relaxation, resulting in the testing of small to massive struc- tures. The technique is particularly amenable for the testing of lange structures due to the ability to apply significant forces with a pretensioned cable. When performing the technique, sw a 2530 time (sec) Fig. 2: Stop relaxation force input step function) May/June 2008 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 77 tl‘magnitude of FFT ‘1 ‘0° frequency (#2) Fig. 23: FFTof step relaxation input ‘the cable or wire used for initial deformation must be restrained when released or the structure may require repair following the test. Finally the FRF's measured from step relax- ation ean be of very high quality but will more than likely require a large amount of time and logistical challenges. BASE EXCITATION WITH TRANSIENTS AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES Base excitation is another technique used for transient testing. ‘This technique essentially consists of attaching the test struc- ture by its base onto an input device that ean provide an impul- sive input and measuring the resulting transient structural response. This technique is useful when the test specifications require a fixed boundary condition, as opposed to the free ‘boundary conditions typically used in the previous methods. Blectrodynamic shakers, typically used for random input vibration tests, ean also be used for transient response tests a8 well. Most ofthese shakers have the eapability for “shock” Tree) g 12000 14000 Ss | time (sec) Fig. 4: Filtered step relaxation input 18 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Moy/June 205 Tmagoitude of FFT frequency (Hz) Fig. 25: FFTof filtered step relaxation input {input functions. Once the impulse is applied, the shaker con- ‘trol couses, allowing the test structure's vibrations to decay freely. The advantage of base excitation from eleetrodynamic shakers is the accurate control of the input waveform. The ‘main disadvantage ofthis technique is that the input levels and duration are limited by the performance of the shaker and ‘the structure itselé™ Drop tables provide an additional method of performing ‘base excitation. These tables are typically vertical in design and consist ofa carriage that impacts with aseismic ‘mass. The test structure, attached to the earriage, israised toa predetermined height. On release, the carriage drops, coming into contact with the seismic mass, resulting in a transient base excitation. Programming material, which can differ in type and thickness, is placed in-between the carriage and the mass in order to control the peak and duration of the impulse. While the transient inputs from drop tables are controllable, they typically take time and many pretest runs to set up the drop height and correct programming material configuration, In addition to the various transient inputs discussed above, lots of other possibilities exist. Only the demands of the test requirements and the creativity and imagination ofthe engi- neer limit the variety of available techniques. A few more examples that have been used by other modal testers include (Q) high-pressure air biasts; (2) cleats on a roller to excite rolling tires; or (8) a fire cracker in the bottom of a small ‘ean, expelling the contents quickly. Even a balloon burst in ‘an acoustic system can be used as a transient input; itis equivalent to a hammer impact for @ structural system. ‘Again, remember that transient inputs work well for lightly damped systems, structural or acoustic. SIGNAL PROCESSING ISSUES FOR TRANSIENTS Last but not least, some considerations of signal processing that arise from using transient inputs must be discussed. The transient input is typically of short duration compared to theeee ad ct & SPaepeses UMToN itel Mate Ve uouIN Tet sample window. Consequently, there may not be a lot of energy throughout the entire sample window. More relative noise is introduced with a transient input than would result from using a stationary or random input. For this reason, transients work best on low-damped structures. Further- rote, a large range in the peak motions exists when using a transient input, so nonlinearities will not be as well aver aged as when using random input, ‘There are a number a good signal processing features pro- ‘grammed into many data eequisition aystems that aid in mea- suring transient tests. Roree windows, negative exponential windows, and trigger delays are all typically available for ‘ransiont inputs. Also, recall that step relaxation inputs require high-pass fil tering or AC coupling, even though the free will need to be DC coupled in order to measure the correct force before releas- - ing. Another issue to be aware of that DC affzets may occur even with high-price data acquisition systems; these are par- ticularly troublesome if foree window is used on the tran: siont input, which also contains a DC offset. The result is a false input measurement, which significantly compromises the measurement of an accurate FRF, SUMMARY ‘This study demonstrated that transient inputs for modal test- ing include much more than just hammer impacts. All the ‘techniques discussed are an important resource that should be maintained in an engineer's “toolbox” for miodal testing, ‘These techniques are generally hestsuited for lightly damped, linear structures and are very versatile due to the variety of methods. Hammer impacts are fast, convenient, and very use- ful for quiek diagnostics. Projectile impaets produce much higher frequency content, but generally the input cannot be measured unless the projectile can he instrumented, Explo- sive inputs contain incredible high-frequency content up to the MHz range, Again, no direct measurement of the explo- sive input is available although the impulse ean typically be calculated. Step relaxation is an underutilized yet highly capable technique, versatile for both small and very lange structures, particularly for massive structures where very lange forces are required for excitation. It can be used for operational structures in which it would be may be impossible to apply other kinds of excitation techniques. Electrodynamic shakers and drop tables can also be used for transient testing ‘when base excitation is required by test specifications, In con- ‘lusion, many types of transient inputs ean be applied, limited only by the application and the imagination of the engineer. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ‘The authors would like to acknowledge the many staff mem- bers at Sandia National Laboratories who contributed to the projects used to ilustrate the various transient inputs. In particular, we thank Dave Kelton, Randy Mayes, im Lauffer, Vesta Bateman, Chris O'Gorman, Anthony Gomer, Tadd Sim mermacher, Gary Rivera, and Dan Gregory for their support, ‘and more importantly, for their test photos. References 1. James, GH. I, Carne, 7.6, and Lauffer, LP. “The Natural ‘Excitation Technique (NEY) for Medal Parameter Extraction from Operating Structures” Modal Analysis: The International Journal of Anaiytial and Experimental Modal Analysis, 144}260-277 (995), 2. Peeters, B., Dammekens, FP, Magalhdes, F, Van der ‘Auweraer, H, and Cunha, A. “Mful-run Operational Modal anal- ysis of the Guadiane Cable-stayed Bridge." Proceedings of IMAC- XATV: Conference & Exposition on Structural Dynamics, Soe for Bxperimental Mechanics, St, Louis, MO, January (2008). 8. 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