NSF Award
9561822
9561822 Leo This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will experimentally validate a technique for dynamic analysis of structures with very high modal density acted on by uncertain loads. The primary tools for dynamic analysis are finite element modeling, modal analysis, and statistical energy analysis. These methods are powerful tools but have limitations when applied to extremely complex structural systems. A technique known as admittance modeling has the potential to overcome these limitations, but has not been thoroughly tested on practical problems. The goal of this effort is to develop this promising theory into a practical tool for the analysis of very complex structural systems. Two experiments will be performed during Phase I. The first involves the control of a truss structure with an attached tuned-mass damper. The second experiment is a vibroacoustic system consisting of a "black box" attached to a stiffened panel that is excited by multiple acoustic sources. For both experiments, dynamic response will be predicted using experimental measurements and the admittance modeling technique. The accuracy of the admittance technique will be tested by comparing the predicted responses with the measured data of the actual system. A preliminary software package will also be developed to analyze the experimental data and provide a basis for the full-scale development in Phase II. A fully developed admittance modeling package would fill an important gap in the toolbox of structural dynamicists. A commercially available package would be of interest in the aircraft and automotive industries because of the inherent complexity of their structural vibration problems.
