Experimental Nonlinear Identification of a Single Mode of a Transversely Excited Beam

Abstract

A procedure is presented for using a primary resonance excitation in experimentally identifying the nonlinear parameters of a model approximating the response of a cantilevered beam by a single mode. The model accounts for cubic inertia and stiffness nonlinearities and quadratic damping. The method of multiple scales is used to determine the frequency-response function for the system. Experimental frequency- and amplitude-sweep data is compared with the prediction of the frequency-response function in a least-squares curve-fitting algorithm. The algorithm is improved by making use of experimentally known information about the location of the bifurcation points. The method is validated by using the extracted parameters to predict the force-response curves at other nearby frequencies.

We then compare this technique with two other techniques that have been presented in the literature. In addition to the amplitude- and frequency-sweep technique presented, we apply a backbone curve- fitting technique and a time-domain technique to the second mode of a cantilevered beam. Differences in the parameter estimates are discussed. We conclude by discussing the limitations encountered for each technique. These include the inability to separate the nonlinear curvature and inertia effects and problems in estimating the coefficients of small terms with the time-domain technique.