Review

of Structural Dynamics
Theory and Modal Analysis
Presented by: David Ransom, P.E., SwRI

Review by:
Carolina Quintana and David Wagner
University of Texas at San Antonio
October 22, 2013

A Brief Summary of Modal Analysis

in Pale ImitaIon of the Style of Dr. Seuss,
with Apologies to Theodor Geisel

by David Wagner

He started, he did, the good Doctor Ransom,

With mass, spring and dashpot, the same
song and dance, some
Useful equaIons, for sure solid theory,
Even with prePy picture, sIll it gets weary.

Nodes with their anInodes dancing in rings,
Loads force the modes that can do many
things,
Bending or twisIng or axial humping,
Waving in blades, around a shell lumping.

RepeaIng symmetric, exciIng harmonics,

Increasing frequency to ultrasonics,
It sums up to Fourier complex deecIon,
With each point vibraIng in every direcIon.

Which is why someIme later, awake from a
nap
It's nice to nd out there's a DAQ-tasIc app
To compute what you need and record all the
data
And help to reduce the amount of errata.

You just need a sensor, a mallet, and DAQ-

thing
To plug stu into, that funky rack-thing
Hooked to a laptop, with all those wires.
Just turn it on and it data-acquires.

For your DAQ-tasIc app to transfer your
funcIon,
And get good results without compuncIon,
Apply to your object a marker to grid it.
There are other ways, but that's how we did
it.

Then get a mallet or nine-pound sledgehammer,

A cammer, a rammer, or ten-ton ka-blammer!
Thwack all the gridpoints, the corners and
midpoints.
Hit each spot four Imes, or even some more
Imes.

Just whack it and thwack it and make a big racket!
Then slap it or tap it or haul o and rap it.
'Til the DAQ-tasIc app, it changes appearance
And shows you've achieved nine-nine-niner
coherence

If it's bad, don't be sad, it might be a double-

tap.
Just delete it, repeat it, it's really no trouble,
chap.
Or use it regardless, this ain't rocket science.
It's not mission-criIcal OSHA compliance.

Now look at your signal all wavy and bumpy
It's all those modaliIes mixed up and jumpy.
But see it decaying all down-slopy ramping?
Your DAQ-tasIc app can compute the
damping!

And that summarizes analysis

modal.
If it seems incomplete I'll just
blame good old Gdel.

I'll now turn things over, my
partner Thing Two,
Has something much saner to
relate to you.

Mass, Spring and Force

Frequency Response

: ForceFrequency
n : NaturalFrequency
: Damping

EquaIon of MoIon

Mode Shapes

Boundary CondiIons

Modal Analysis TesIng

H ij ( ) : FrequencyRe sponseFunction
Re sponseati,excitationat j
m : mod almass
n : Do min anmod es

ModalParameters
: Frequency

: Damping
{ } : ModeShape

Equipment
Test

Response Measurement
(Accelerometer)
Data AcquisiIon System
(Alta SoluIons)

Impact excitaIon tool

(Hammer)

Specimen
(Turbine Blade)

Experimental Technique

Frequency Response

 Modes RecogniIon
Mode 1

Mode 2

Modes shapes at given Frequency

Mode 1

Mode 2