From Thermal Inspection to Updating a Numerical Model of a Race Bicycle: Comparison with Structural Dynamics Approach

摘要

Carbon fiber bicycle frames are complex-shaped structures and are prone to delaminations and difficult to inspect. The use of finite element model updating is common in structural dynamics but not so common in active thermography inspection. However, there are many advantages to using thermography when inspecting bicycle frames. These include the fact that the inspection can be performed in situ, can cover large areas, and is a quantitative method. In this paper, a numerical model of a bicycle frame will be updated and optimized by the surface temperature distribution captured with pulsed thermography. These results will be compared and benchmarked against frequency response function (FRF) measurement data as a reference. The chosen temperature decay measurements to be used as reference data will be of key importance. The goal of this manuscript is to compare both measurement results and model predictabilities after performing finite element model updating with respect to accuracy and speed.