Modal identification of flexible Structures with applications in robotic manipulators

Abstract

Control of flexible structures for many applications requires an accurate value of their parametric properties such as mass and stiffness. These properties may be derived from natural frequencies and damping ratios. Structures with high flexibility in their configurations such as those with both angular displacement about a transverse direction and torsional displacements about an axial direction pose extreme challenge in determining their dynamics parameters analytically. This paper discusses the determination of modal parameters of a flexible structure with fixed-free end conditions using experimental modal analysis. The accuracy of the results is then verified with the results obtained analytically and also through output-based modal analysis. These results will later be applied to obtain the state variables required for the control of such flexible structure as robot manipulators. ©2010 Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc.