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Multi-Input-Multi-Output vibration testing typically requires the determination of inputs to achieve desired response at multiple locations. First, the responses due to each input are quantified in terms of complex transfer functions in the frequency domain. In this study, two Inputs and five Responses were used leading to a 5 × 2 transfer function matrix. Inputs corresponding to the desired Responses are then computed by inversion of the rectangular matrix using Pseudo-Inverse techniques that involve least-squared solutions. It is important to understand and quantify the various sources of errors in this process toward improved implementation of Multi-Input-Multi-Output testing. In this article, tests on a cantilever beam with two actuators (input controlled smart shakers) were used as Inputs while acceleration Responses were measured at five locations including the two input locations. Variation among tests was quantified including its impact on transfer functions across the relevant frequency domain. Accuracy of linear superposition of the influence of two actuators was quantified to investigate the influence of relative phase information. Finally, the accuracy of the Multi-Input-Multi-Output inversion process was investigated while varying the number of Responses from 2 (square transfer function matrix) to 5 (full-rectangular transfer function matrix). Results were examined in the context of the resonances and anti-resonances of the system as well as the ability of the actuators to provide actuation energy across the domain. Improved understanding of the sources of uncertainty from this study can be used for more complex Multi-Input-Multi-Output experiments.

This paper investigates the sensitivity of structural system response to the sensor location by investigating consequences of small changes in the location to the structural system response. The paper discusses how maximum observability (based on mode shape and the participation of that mode in the input provided) drives optimal location. The structural responses were investigated in terms of the g-rms response for various low-frequency inputs (pure sinusoids and real-life inputs such as an earthquake and trains). Results were then analyzed in the context of Modal Contributions Factors (MCF) and changes to the Force-to-response Transfer Functions (TRFs). A modal-matching process is first presented using a MatlabTM-based Finite Element Method (FEM) model of a cantilever beam and instrumentation to determine the location of a small mass based on three different criteria. Subsequently, the structural response is investigated using experiments and the FEM model. The accelerometer of small mass (at 1/3 height) was moved up or down to obtain changes in the structural response (TRF) to various realistic low-frequency inputs. Modal Contribution Factor (MCF) and derivative (slope) of the associated mode-shapes were correlated to the observed changes in TRFs. Results show how optimal sensor locations for detecting change in structural response can be based on the MCFs and the associated mode-shapes.

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