METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREDICTING STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY BY ESTIMATING MODAL DAMPING FACTOR

摘要

The integrity of structures may be determined by either one of two methods. In a first method, an impulse of energy is introduced into the structure (20), such as by striking the structure (20), and the induced vibration is measured and the modal damping factor is calculated, the modal damping factor being directly related to the integrity of the structure (20). In a second method, a continous energy input is provided to the structure (20) for inducing a continous vibration in the structure (20). This continous vibration is measured with a transducer (28) and a modal damping factor is calculated with a computer (32). The computer uses an algorithm to estimate the modal damping factor of the structure by calculating a theoretical response of an idealized system from several assumed parameters and varying those parameters.