Development of a sine-dwell ground vibration test (GVT) system

Abstract

Knowledge of the natural modes of vibration of a structure is required to solve or avoid vibration and flexibility problems in industrial, automotive, aerospace and civil engineering applications. All new aircraft must undergo a flutter clearance to ensure that it will be free from flutter within the intended operating envelope. Long-span bridges are also subject to flutter, and high-rise buildings can oscillate severely in high winds. Vibrations in industrial installations are also quite common and are often due to the unfortunate matching of an excitation frequency and a natural frequency of the installation. The methods of determining the natural modes of a structure are continually evolving, and this paper describes one GVT system with some novel features