MODEL UPDATING AND STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION OF A TENNIS RACKET

In recent years several methods have been developed for updating finite element models with regard to their dynamic characteristics, by using vibration information. Many techniques use modal characteristics (resonance frequencies, damping factors, modal displacement etc.) for tuning physical parameters of the model (elasticity moduli, mass density, plate thicknesses, cross sectional characteristics etc.) in order to obtain a finite element model which shows the same dynamic features as the real structure. One of these techniques is the User Acceptance model updating technique. Since this technique not only uses physically interpretable model parameters, but also allows an easy selection and/or weighting of those parameters and the dynamic characteristics to be matched, it is also applicable to dynamic structural optimisation. If used as such, the desired vibration parameters serve as a goal for the structural optimisation procedure. The algorithm determines modifications of the structure, within the imposed boundary conditions, that will match the desired dynamic behaviour, an example illustrates this process. © 1992.