Actuator Placement in Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Vibration Simulators

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Fitz-Coy, Norman | Chatterjee, Anindya

Affiliations: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics, and Engineering Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2031

Abstract: A method for comparing candidate actuator configurations for multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) vibration simulators is presented. The method has its roots in the comparison of achievable subspaces and maximum error bounds; the comparison is accomplished via a QR decomposition. In instances where two configurations yield the same error bound, the ratio of the largest to smallest singular value is used to determine the “best” configuration. Both amplitude bounds at given sensor locations and relative significance of each sensor's output, if known, can be incorporated in the analysis. Through numerical examples, it is demonstrated that no simple rule of thumb criterion appears to exist for the selection of actuator placement in MDOF vibration simulators.

DOI: 10.3233/SAV-1994-1307

Journal: Shock and Vibration, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 279-287, 1994