On the Force Drop Off Phenomenon in Shaker Testing in Experimental Modal Analysis

The Electrodynamic Vibration Exciter (shakers) has been one of the most employed excitation sources in modal tests. The shaker is an electromechanical device that provides a mechanical motion due to the input signal sent to its coil. Despite being widely used, it is well known that the shaker intera...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paulo Sergio Varoto, Leopoldo Pisanelli Rodrigues de Oliveira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2002-01-01
Series:Shock and Vibration
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2002/675674
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Summary:The Electrodynamic Vibration Exciter (shakers) has been one of the most employed excitation sources in modal tests. The shaker is an electromechanical device that provides a mechanical motion due to the input signal sent to its coil. Despite being widely used, it is well known that the shaker interacts with the structure under test. In particular, when the structure passes through a given resonance, the force delivered by the shaker abruptly decreases, causing the so called drop off phenomenon. This paper aims to study this force drop off phenomenon in the single shaker modal testing. Analytical models are developed to help in understanding the physical principles involved in the interaction between the shaker and the structure under test. Experimental analyses are performed using different shakers as well as excitation signals, in order to evaluate the effects of the input signal, as well as the power amplifier operational modes, on the structure dynamics. Preliminary tests revealed that significant distortions might occur during vibration tests using shakers and these distortions significantly affect the determination of the structure response.
ISSN:1070-9622
1875-9203