Musical Acoustics

Module II : Characterization of Musical

Instruments

Modal Testing and Frequency Response

Function
Riccardo Roberto De Lucia
riccardoroberto.delucia@polimi.it
Linear Time Invariant Systems
LTI systems

• Simplest type of systems

• Linear Systems do not alter the frequency of the input signal:
§ Input sinusoids are only modified in amplitude and phase
§ Sinusoids are thus eigenfunctions for LTI systems
• Superposition property: input components are treated separately, then
combined together at the output stage
Linear time invariant systems: properties

• Linearity: they satisfy the superposition property

• The output of a sum of signals is equivalent to the sum of outputs for the
separate signals

Linear System
Linear time invariant systems: properties

• Time invariance: the system response does not depend on time but only
on the input itself and system state (for dynamic systems)

Time shift
Impulse response (IR)

• Linear systems are studied through impulsive signals

• Ideal impulsive signal: Dirac delta function
• Continuous signals can be seen as a combination of infinite Dirac delta
functions, spaced by an infinitely small time dt

Generic LTI
system symbol
Impulse response (IR)

• Under the LTI hypothesis:

Output: convolution
between input and
system impulse
response
• ℎ # is the system impulse response
• LTI systems are completely described by their impulse responses
• The system responds to each input signal according to its impulse
response

1. The impulse response does not change for

$ % & ℎ # − & (& = delayed impulses (time invariance property)
2. On can completely characterize the system by
$ % # − & ℎ # (& analyzing the impulse response at one sole
time instant t
From IR to Frequency Response

• Fourier transform: convolution products turn into simple products

Transfer function
• Transfer function: frequency relationship between output and input

The transfer function coincides with the system frequency

response function
Frequency Response Function
FRF characteristics

• FRF: how the system behaves in frequency

• The behavior is referred to sinusoidal inputs of arbitrary frequency f
• Most signals are combination of sinusoidal components:
§ FRF describes how the system reacts in frequency to almost every
kind of input signal
• Computing the FRF:

The analytical
formulation of input Ratio between
and output is input and output
known
System
The analytical Modal testing:
formulation of input measurement
and output is issues (noise, non
unknown linearities, etc.)
From measures to FRF

• Very often real structures have no mathematical models

• In such cases can try to reverse engineer a suitable model which collects
their most important dynamic characteristics, such as:
§ Modal frequencies
§ Modal damping
§ Modal shapes
• Frequency Response Functions (FRF) contain such information
• Modal testing and FRF: alternative to FEM simulations
§ No need for the object shape (3D model)
§ No need for material properties
Common types of Frequency Response
Functions
• Standard input: force (Newton)
• Common output signals: displacement, velocity, acceleration
§ they define different types of FRFs
• FRFs (and impulse responses) are point to point properties of a
structure (input to output)
1. Compliance:
displacement/force
2. Mobility or Admittance:
velocity/force
3. Inertance or Receptance:
acceleration/force
4. Dynamic Stiffness:
1/Compliance
5. Impedance:
1/Mobility
6. Dynamic mass:
1/Inertance
FRF Matrix

• Measurements on a
discretized grid of points
on the structure
• FRFs measures are often
organized in a matrix
structure where:
§ Each row index
corresponds to a specific
measurement point
§ Each column correspond
to a specific force
application point
 Degrees of Freedom and
Operating Deflection Shapes
Degrees of Freedom

• DOFs refer to how a point with mass of a system is able to move in

space
• Consider the following discrete vibrational systems with two masses:

1) Masses can move only

along the x axis: only one
DOF for each mass

2) Masses can move along

x and y axes: two DOFs for
each mass

The term DOF is ambigously used in literature:

• In FEM analysis, structure discretized points are equally
called (therefore ARE) DOFs
• More in general, DOFs refer to how one point can move
Degrees of Freedom

• General moves: shifts and rotations

• System dimensionality: over how much dimensions the object points
can move
• Example: ideal string
y
Longitudinal and transverse motion: they develop over
the (x, y) plane. The string moves in a 2D system

• Given ! as the system dimensionality, structures have !(! + 1)/2 degrees

of freedom:
§ ! translational modes
§ !(! − 1)/2 rotational modes
• Example: 3D points can have until 6 DOF
§ 3 traslative (in x, y, z directions) and 3 rotational (around the x, y, z
axes)
• System vibration: harmonic motion/ rotation of its points along one or
more dymension axes
Degrees of Freedom and modal shapes

• Modal vibrations: systems points move according to one pattern

• Modal shape: configuration of all points patterns
• This is true both for discrete and continuous systems
• Example of modal shape for a lumped system:

Modal shape
Longitudinal (x 1: masses
direction) move in the
displacement same direction
from rest
position is
represented on
Modal shape
the y axis
2: masses
move in
opposite
direction
Degrees of Freedom and number of modes

System total number of modes:

(number of points with mass)x(number of DOFs for each
point with mass)
• Lumped and discretized continuous systems: finite number of points, i.e.
natural modes
• Continuous systems: infinite number of points, i.e. natural modes
Modal Shapes vs Operating Deflection Shapes
(ODS)

ODS
1) Forced movement of 2 or more
points of a structure (also with no Mode Shapes
vibrating properties)
1) Only defined for vibrating structures
2) Strongly depends on the
applied force 2) Intrinsic properties of the system,
which do not depend on the applied
3) Expression of the overall force
motion of the structure (non
linearities and non stationary 3) They define a stationary behavior
(transient) elements are included)
Modal Shapes vs Operating Deflection Shapes
(ODS)
• During measurements we NEVER observe pure modal shapes, but ODSs
• Modal shapes combine together during vibration, even for sinusoidal
stimulations at one frequency
• Lightly damped structures: ODSs at resonant frequencies are very
similar to pure modal shapes.
• In order to find modal shapes we therefore need to post process the
measured ODS data
Types of tests and measures
Hammer test

• Piezoelectric hammers Measurement point

• Force sensor inside the hammer

to measure the input impact on
the structure
• Measurements on one unique
point, while the hammer is
moved around the structure for
each new measure
• This type of test corresponds to
the computation of a single row
of the FRF matrix
• The test can be repeated on a
different output measure point
to compute another matrix row.
Shaker test
Measurement points
• Standard signals: burst noise,
sine chirp
• Measurements on multiple
points, while the shaker is kept
fixed on one same point for
each measure
• This type of test corresponds to
the computation of a single
column of the FRF matrix
• The test can be repeated by
moving the shaker on a
different point to compute
another matrix column
FRF of real vibrating structures
Real structure measurement issues

• Real systems: more complex than LTI systems

• Nonlinearities (e.g. for high amplitude stimulations)
• Measurement noise
• Nonlinear behavior from the measurement setup
• Time limited signals: leakage

These elements impacts on measurements, therefore

mining the accuracy of the linear model we want to
extract

Each measurement is actually repeated several times,

data is than an averaged before being used for
computations
Accurate FRF estimation: leakage control

• Analysis windows: signals

are truncated in time through
windows which smooth the
signal at time interval
boundaries
• Windows convolve in
frequency with the actual
signal:
§ sidelobes in the resulting
spectrum
• Windows are chosen
according to:
§ sidelobe levels
§ main lobe widths
Accurate FRF estimation: leakage control

• The usage of window functions can limit leakage, thus increasing the FRF
accuracy
• Nevertheless, windows tend to smooth FRF peaks, giving more flat
responses.
• Attention should be always put in the FRF interpretation
Common windows

• Input window
§ Constant value + steep descent half cosine
§ Applied on the input hammer signal
§ Standard extension: 5 – 10% of the time record length
• Exponential Window
§ Applied both to the input hammer and the output measurement
§ Standard extension: time constant is ¼ of the time record length
§ Inherently introduces damping on the FRF, but it can be compensated
during modal estimation
Accurate FRF estimation

• Actual FRFs are NEVER a simple ratio between the output and the input
• Noise can easily appear in measured data
• More accurate FRFs: estimators
§ measurement noise modeled as a unique source of noise that is
added to the input ! or output "
• Noise on the Output estimator:

• Noise on the Input estimator:

Coherence

• Even with estimators, there can be still some incoherent information

between input and output (e.g. non modeled noise sources, non linear
behaviors)
• Coherence: metrics to correctly relate the measured output to the
provided input, according to the system linear behavior
Coherence

• How much the output is actually

related to the input Bad Coherence
• Low coherence: the observed output
has an incoherent frequency content
wrt the measured input
• Coherence tends to diminish for
higher frequencies
• Example:
Real, always band limited, hammer
test. High frequencies are not
adequately solicited in the structure:
§ they easily mix with measurement
noise
Overall good coherence
From FRF to system properties
Curve Fitting

• The process of extracting structural dynamic properties (modal

frequencies, damping and shapes) from measured/ computed data
• Curve fitting algorithms often operate on FRFs
• Curve fitting tries to best extract mathematical models from measured
data
• These models represent a linear approximation of measured structures

Two general approaches

Global Techniques, that operate on Local Techniques, that operate on one

more than one FRF at time FRF at time

Multi-reference Local Multiple

Global curve fitting curve fitting Local SDOF DOF
Local SDOF: analyzing simple vibrating
structures
• Local SDOF is used on very simple structures
§ no modal coupling
§ very light damping
• The FRF is decomposed in a sum of modes, which are treated separately
• From each mode shape we extract the damping info
• Damping is computed from the -3dB (half-power) band ∆" around the
peak amplitude at frequency " as # = ∆"/(2")
Local SDOF modal shapes extraction:
Quadrature Picking Procedure
• Lightly coupled structures: one single mode at a time defines the motion
shape at one resonant frequency

Strong coupling
• At resonant frequencies all the motion information is contained:
§ in the FRF imaginary part (for acceleration or displacement measures)
§ in the FRF real part (for velocity measures)
• Procedure:
§ Consider one FRF matrix row (or column)
§ Interpolate resonant real/ imaginary peak values for all solicitation
points
• Result: modal shape during one time instant for the corresponding
resonant frequency.
• Combine all the mode shapes to obtain the overall vibrational shape.
Quadrature Picking Procedure (cont’d)

• Example: vibrating bar, 3 acceleration

measurement points
• Consider the imaginary part and choose
one FRF row
• Interpolate same resonant points on each
FRF row to find the bar modal shape
• *: sometimes one row/column fails at
computing the mode shape *
§ We need then to choose another
matrix row/ column

Two modal shapes (blue and red) from

different rows of the 3x3 FRF matrix
imaginary part
Violin admittance measurement techniques
Multiple FRF measurement

• Several accelerometers are put on the

violin body (belly, bottom plate)
• The instrument is hammered at several
points
• The vibration information at various
points allows to understand modal
shapes
• Warning: invasive technique
• Dangerous for varnish coatings
Bridge Admittance

• The bridge is excited by the hammer

• The hammer movement is controlled
through a mechanical tool
• Only one accelerometer is used, on the
bridge
• Hammer-accelerometer configurations:
• hh: bridge rocking motion
• hv: mixed motion
• vv: bridge vertical motion
• Less invasive
• No modal information

vertical

horizontal