Applications and Advances of Modal Testing

In this, the third in a series of papers on modal testing, attention is turned to the specific applications of modal testing results to help solve the type of vibration problems regularly encountered in rotating machinery. Applications include: monitoring and identifying the location of changes (such as cracks) which develop in a structural component and thus change its vibration properties; location of errors in FE models; location of sources of damping and non-linearities; structural modification and force determination. In addition to summarising these applications, their requirements in terms of data quality and quantity are also stressed.