Comparison of an impact source and a monochromatic source for modal testing of bridge structures

Michael S. Huber; James A. Bay; Marvin W. Halling; Kevin C. Womack

doi:10.1117/12.387834

9 June 2000 Comparison of an impact source and a monochromatic source for modal testing of bridge structures

Michael S. Huber, James A. Bay, Marvin W. Halling, Kevin C. Womack

Proceedings Volume 3995, Nondestructive Evaluation of Highways, Utilities, and Pipelines IV; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.387834
Event: SPIE's 5th Annual International Symposium on Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring of Aging Infrastructure, 2000, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

Modal testing requires imparting energy to a structure over a range of frequencies. This energy can be applied to the structure one frequency at a time using a monochromatic source, or a broadband energy source can apply energy at many frequencies simultaneously. An example of a monochromatic source is a rotating eccentric-mass shaker, and an example of a broadband source is an impact. A 250-kg, instrumented pendulum was developed at Utah State University to apply impulsive forces to bridge structures and measure the applied forcing function. This paper presents the basic design of this device. Data measured on three highway bridge bent structures are presented and the procedures used to analyze this data are presented. The results of testing with an impact source are compared to the results obtained using an 89-kN rotating eccentric-mass shaker. This paper shows that the rotating eccentric-mass shaker provides very high-quality data over a limited frequency range, while the 250-kg impulsive source provides somewhat poorer quality data, but over a much wider frequency band. The impulsive source also requires less testing time, and simpler data analysis than the rotating eccentric-mass shaker.

Citation Download Citation

Michael S. Huber, James A. Bay, Marvin W. Halling, and Kevin C. Womack "Comparison of an impact source and a monochromatic source for modal testing of bridge structures", Proc. SPIE 3995, Nondestructive Evaluation of Highways, Utilities, and Pipelines IV, (9 June 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.387834

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