Practical implementation of the corrected force analysis technique to identify the structural parameter and load distributions

The paper aims to combine two objectives of the Force Analysis Technique (FAT): vibration source identification and material characterization from the same set of measurement. Initially, the FAT was developed for external load location and identification. It consists in injecting measured vibration displacements in the discretized equation of motion. Two developments exist: FAT and CFAT (Corrected Force Analysis Technique) where two finite difference schemes are used. Recently, the FAT was adapted for the identification of elastic and damping properties in a structure. The principal interests are that the identification is local and allows mapping of material characteristics, the identification can be made at all frequencies, especially in medium and high frequency domains. The paper recalls the development of FAT and CFAT on beams and plates and how it can be possible to extract material characteristics in areas where no external loads are applied. Experimental validations are shown on an aluminum plate with arbitrary boundary conditions, excited by a point force and where a piece of foam is glued on a sub-surface of the plate. Contactless measurements were made using a scanning laser vibrometer. The results of FAT and CFAT are compared and discussed for material property identifications in the regions with and without foam. The excitation force identification is finally made by using the identified material properties. CFAT gives excellent results comparable to a direct measurement obtained by a piezoelectric sensor. The relevance of the corrected scheme is then underlined for both source identification and material characterization from the same measurements. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.