An Experiment to Identify the Structural Dynamics of a Portal Frame

Abstract

This paper describes the application of sequential frequency domain techniques to the estimation of mass, stiffness, and damping parameters using measured frequency response functions from a portal frame rig. The theory of the method has been described in the authors’ previous publications. A portal frame is representative of many engineering structures. It is lightly damped and may be thought of as an element of several larger structures such as bridges, transmission towers, and the steel foundations of modern power generating plant. The results offered in this paper are thus of interest to a broad range of engineering problems where it is required to obtain mathematical models in terms of physical parameters.