Rotational degrees of freedom data synthesis based on force

excitation

L. Bregant, D. Casagrande
Department of Energetics, University of Trieste, Italy
e-mail: bregant@univ.trieste.it

Abstract
In many structural dynamic tools, mobility matrices manipulations are foreseen. Its understood that the full
matrices, containing translational and rotational degree of freedom data are requested in order to obtain
meaningful and correct results. Unfortunately the latter data that comprehend mobility function either with
rotational responses or angular excitations are neglected due to the difficulties related to their measurements.
In this article a method to derive RDOF data will be presented. The proposed technique relay on response
data obtained with standard force excitation and on numerical matrix expansion techniques.
The approach is based on the assumption that, in the surrounding of the point of interest, within the
frequency range of interest, the structure behaves as a rigid body. Under this condition, if reciprocity holds,
some relations between linear and rotational motions can be established and the RDOF functions due to
angular excitation can be derived.

and rotational FRFs obtained with standard linear

1. Introduction
Most of the tools used in the prediction of the
dynamic behaviour of vibro-acoustic systems are
based on the manipulation of frequency response
functions (FRFs) matrices. Transfer path analysis,
sub-structuring, inverse force calculations, vibration
control are few examples where those data matrices
are added, multiplied, inverted, scaled and so on.
Its understood that the FRFs matrices must be
complete thus containing translational (TDOF) and
rotational (RDOF) degrees of freedom data. Under
the notation of RDOF fall all those FRFs that
contain angular information either on the response
(for example angular velocity) or on the excitation
(for example torque) and as such, require dedicated
sensors and actuators to be measured and excited.
While in the last decades some efforts have been
devoted to the development of accurate, economical
and easily usable RDOF sensors [1] not much work
has been done for the excitation techniques. This
fact represents an important limitation for the
measurements of direct rotational response
functions and then to the acquisition of the full
excitation and on matrix expansion techniques.
It will be proved that the suggested technique works
properly only when some measurement conditions
are respected. In this work only numerical results
will be presented while the experimental
verification of the procedure will be included in a
companion paper.
2. Matrix expansion theory
The theory at the base of the matrix expansion is
available since the beginning of the 90 and has
been presented more or less simultaneously by
Halvoresen et al. [2] and Otte et al. [3]. Few other
authors like for example [4] and [5] take into
consideration the technique for its potential to
synthetize unmeasured FRFs. To the knowledge of
the authors, the expansion approach has never been
applied specifically to the estimation of RDOF data
as in this article.
In order to understand the expansion procedure let
consider the full FRFs matrix [Hzz], this can be
splitted as follows:

[Hzz ] =
FRFs matrix. H xF H xM
= [H zF H zM ]
HM
In this article, an approach to synthetize RDOF data
due to angular excitation is presented. The proposed HF
technique relays on the processing of translational (1)
where the under script x and indicate linear and
rotational responses while F and M indicate force
and moment excitations.
In most of the cases, the sub-matrix [HzF] related to
the force excitation can be measured completely
while the sub-matrix [HzM] is neglected and has to
be reconstructed somehow to assure the correctness
of the mentioned matrix manipulations.
The assumptions at the base of the expansion
procedure are rather simple and can be expressed as
follow:
the FRF matrix is reciprocal, that means that
the sub-matrix [HxM] is the transpose of the
sub-matrix [HF],
the rank of the sub-matrix [HzF] is equal to the
rank of the full matrix [Hzz].
This latter assumption implicates that the expanded
sub-matrix [HzM] can be obtained as a linear
combination of the data contained in the measured
sub-matrix [HzF] or differently speaking that the
selected references (forces) can excite all the
systems modes.
In mathematical notation these two assumptions can
be written as follows:
[HxM ] = [HF ]T
(2)
[HzM ] = [HzF ][T]
(3)
The second assumption has much stronger
implications as it will be shown in the simulation
results.
If the two conditions are satisfied, it is possible to
perform one of the two following expansions and
obtain correct results.
The two possibilities are:
the Linear Least Square (LLS) method
the Total Linear Least Square (TLLS) method.
The LLS approach derives directly form the
mentioned assumptions. In this case the following
relations can be written:
[H xM ] = [HxF ][T]
(4)
[H M ] = [HF ][T ]
(5)
Form equation (4), if [HxF] is not singular, the
transform matrix [T] can be derived and substituted
in (5) to obtain the global expression of the
expansion and the definition of the missing sub-
matrix [HM]:
[HM ] = [HF ][HxF ]1[HF ]T
(6)
The inversion of the references square matrix [HxF]
can be computed using a direct algorithm or one
based on the singular value decomposition (SVD).
In this second case its possible to guarantee a better
conditioning of the problem.
For what concerns the TLLS a slightly different
procedure has to be followed since the base of the
expansion is not [HxF] anymore but the full
reference sub-matrix [HzF].
A SV decomposition of the base rectangular can be
performed as follows:
[H zF ] = [U][][V ]H
(7)
where [U] and [V] unitary matrices and [] is the
singular values diagonal matrix. Due to the
reciprocity of the full matrix [Hzz] its possible to
write also:
[Hzz ] = [U][H* ][U]T
(8)
where [H*] is a square matrix whose dimensions
are dependant from the number of retained singular
values and should be equal to the rank of the
complete mobility matrix:
[H ] = [U] [H ][U ]
* H
zF x
T
(9)
The matrix [Ux] is the unitary matrix truncated to
the first x columns where x equals the number of
retained SVs. Its again a rectangular matrix and a
SVD based inversion can be used.
Back substituting the matrix [H*] in formula (8)
gives the full response function matrix [Hzz].
Both the LLS and the TLLS methodologies can be
used to derive any response function with the
condition that the base matrices contain the proper
information and that the reduced rank assumption is
fulfilled.
In the following paragraphs some of the results
obtained during the numerical validation will be
presented.
3. Simulations results on the test
structure
In order to validate the quality of the procedure
some simulations have been carried out. In this
phase the interest is focused mainly in the
reconstruction of out of plane RDOF data in a
defined point of interest on the structure. The
expansion procedures could be used to synthetize in
plane response functions too.
The test structure is a simple L shape plate as in
fig.1. The dimensions are Lx=400 mm, Ly=300mm,
Lz=100mm and thickness 5mm. The material is steel
and its properties are: E=2.0e11 N/m 2, =7.8e3
kg/m3, =0.3.
directly form the FE code. In this way the
estimation errors can be directly evaluated.
3.1 The random data selection
The first tests are wanted to prove that a generic
approach in which the reference points are chosen
randomly on the structure can not provide useful
results. To this purpose two different simulations
have been carried out considering three (white
points in fig.1) or six (black points in fig.1)
references and four and seven responses
respectively. In both cases responses and references
are randomly chosen on the plate to synthetize an
out of plane RDOF function. As it can be seen in
fig. 2 and fig. 3 the results are not so encouraging
and the application of the expansion methodologies
to this kind of database seems to be pointless.
8
10
FEM
LLS
TLLS

6
10

4
10

2
10

Amplitude (rad/Nm)

0
10

-2
10
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 2. Expansion results of 3 randomly chosen

references; SVD based inversion with 1 singular
value skipped.
Figure 1. The test structure.
8

The structure is modelled and analysed in ANSYS 10

FEM
LLS
using shell elements. The mesh is parametric and TLLS

allows to maintain exactly the same elements layout 10

6

and size even if the point of interest changes

position on the structure. This permits also to 10
4

eliminate any influence of the meshing in the

calculation of the response functions. The harmonic 10
2

Amplitude (rad/Nm)
analysis to calculate the response functions is based
on the modal superposition and great care is taken 10
0

to assure the quality of the calculated data within

the frequency band of interest. The FRF matrices 10
-2

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Frequency (Hz)
obtained within the FE code are processed and
expanded within some routines developed in
Matlab. The FRFs synthetised with the expansion Figure 3. Expansion results of 6 randomly chosen
approach are compared with the ones obtained references; SVD based inversion with 1 singular
value skipped.
3.2 The focused data selection
Having verified the poor results of the generic
approach, the focused procedure has been analysed.
Of the two assumptions at the base of the expansion
the second one is the most limiting. The fact that the
rank of the reference matrix [HzF] has to be the
same of the full matrix [Hzz] physically means that
the structure has to behave in the area described by
those matrices as a rigid body. Only in this case, the
response of a single point can be obtained as a
linear combination of the response of some other
closed by points. That is the reason why, the
random approach does not provide correct results.
The most important parameter than become the
distance between the point where the FRF has to be
synthetized and the response points, and secondly
the layout of those points, the number of retained
singular values and so on.
To prove the potentials of the method, different
points configurations are tested varying the
position of the point of interest within the structure
(far from the borders, on the edge, in the corner),
different layout of the response point (three, four,
six points, cross layout, x layout), different
thickness of the structure and so on.
Its understood that the size of the areas of the
structure that can be considered behaving as a rigid
body depends from the frequency. The higher the
frequency the smaller the size. To define this
dimension the bending wavelength of the material
and the structure at the maximum frequency of
interest has been considered. With a small
approximation, in fact the motion of the structure
within /4 can be considered rigid, while above this
distance the area around the point of interest
doesnt behave as a rigid body anymore and the
rank assumption is violated.
If the material properties are known, it is possible to
calculate the seeked bending wavelength based on
the longitudinal wave velocity cLI and the phase
velocity cB of the bending wave:
cB 1 .8c LIHf
=
f f
(10)
E
c LI =
(
1 2 ) Obviously the larger the distance the bigger the
(11)
where H represents the thickness of the structure
and f the frequency of interest as explained in [6].
For the proposed example the value of at the
frequency of 2000 Hz is approximately 155mm.
As previously mentioned, the simulations will be
focused on the synthesis of direct rotational
response/moment excitation FRF. These quantities
seem to be the most difficult to measure since both
the response and excitation are angular quantities.
The FRFs related to rotational response/force
excitation can be more easily evaluated using
existing rotational sensors and the linear
response/moment excitation FRFs can be obtained
transposing the previous ones.
For the simulations the linear loads and responses
are applied and evaluated along the normal to the
structure surface, while the rotational excitations
and responses are evaluated outside the structures
plane. The measured FRFs are than TZ/FZ and
RY/FZ, TZ/MY are obtained by transposition of the
previous ones and the synthetized FRFs are
RY/MY.
3.3 The numerical results
As mentioned previously the results of different
configuration are presented.
First of all the influence of the distance of the
reference points from the interest point has been
tested. Augmenting the distance worsens the results
as expected since the rank assumption gets violated
as can be seen in figs. 4, 5 and 6.
Figure 4.Exp. results, x layout d=19mm
errors. These concentrate at higher frequencies
where the bending wavelength is shorter.

Figure 5. Exp. results, x layout d=39mm
Figure 6. Exp. results, x layout d=59mm
For a fixed distance the results vary as function of
the point layout (compare fig 4 and fig 7).
Figure 7. Exp. results, + layout d=19mm
For what concerns the estimation approach, LLS or
TLLS, the differences are not so large at least for
errors free data like in fig.8.
Figure 8. Exp. results, x layout d=19mm
In the case of noisy data the quality of the TLLS
results is better. Furthermore the TLLS approach
has a further advantage: since the matrix to invert
contains more data, its is possible to perform a
SVD based inversion and eliminate one or two of
the smallest SVs to improve the robustness of the
inversion and globally the quality of the expansion.
To prove this, some simulation studies with added
random noise have been performed.. The amplitude
of the added noise is about .1% of the maximum
value of the corresponding FRF.
The effect of the noise and the SV elimination can
be seen in fig.9 and fig.10 where no SV and
respectively two SV are eliminated.
Figure 9. Exp. results, noisy data, 0 SV skipped

Figure 10. Exp. Results, noisy data, 1 SV skipped
Figure 11. Exp. results, close to border
Figure 12. Exp. results, on the edge
If the quality of the estimation of the FRF is
evaluated against the position of the point of
interest on the structure, its evident that the closer
to the edges of the structure the poorer the quality
of the estimation. This can be seen in fig.11 (close
to border) and fig.12 (on the edge).
The result was expected since the amount of
independent data available expansion for the is
reduced.
4. Conclusions
The article illustrates a procedure to syntethize
RDOF response functions due to moment excitation
expanding FRF matrices obtained with force
references. It has been shown how the distance
between the reference points and the interest point
where the data has to be synthetized is the most
important parameter.
Its obvious that the amount of work required for
the calculation of the RDOF data is increased, since
a larger number of reference points have to be
excited, but as far as no reliable and practical
moment exciter is not available the proposed
procedures offer a good alternative.
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the UE trough the
Brite Euram Project QUATTRO contract BRPR-
CT97-054.
References
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