Monday  |  Salon 10  |  04:50 PM–05:10 PM

#12678, Using Piezoelectric Film Actuators as Excitation Sources in Modal Tests

Establishing piezoelectric actuators as excitation sources in modal testing would enable in situ testing of components that are inaccessible to modal hammers or shakers. However, effective experimental methods associated with this approach have not been established. To this end, we use a single patch of piezoelectric film to drive a small rectangular test article across a broad frequency range. The resulting FRFs are compared to those obtained using a traditional modal hammer. Comparisons between the FRFs reveal that the coupling between the piezoelectric circuit and the structure induce subtle changes in the structure’s resonance frequencies and damping. A fully-coupled electromechanical model of the test setup is then used to understand these discrepancies on physical grounds. Ultimately, this understanding will enable revisions to the experimental and post-processing techniques such that coupling effects are removed, and the resulting data are more faithful to the dynamics of the underlying structure.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Ben Davis   University of Georgia
Mark Jackson   University of Georgia
Daniel Agramonte   University of Georgia
Garrett Lopp   Sandia National Laboratories
Ryan Schultz   Sandia National Laboratories