Uncertainty quantification using maximum likelihood: Experimental validation

Abstract

Parameter uncertainty is extensively used to analyze the robustness and reliability of a structure. However this analysis requires the specification of the uncertainty, and for many parameters this is not an easy quantity to estimate. This paper uses a maximum likelihood approach, combined with either a perturbation or Monte Carlo method for the forward propagation of uncertainty, to estimate the parameter mean and variance. The method is demonstrated on two experimental examples, namely cantilever and free-free beams with a moving mass. Copyright © 2005 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.