Highly dynamic force control for experimental vibration analysis with an electrodynamic shaker

Abstract A new control method aims at the precise high dynamic control of the force signal for experimental vibration analysis, which is generated by an electrodynamic shaker. A bending beam is used as a nonlinear test object. A design and a surrogate model of the test rig are shown and parameterized based on test rig measurements. The force control algorithm using input/output linearisation is described and implemented in Matlab/Simulink for simulative validation studies. Conclusions drawn from the mathematical description of the problem as well as simulation results show that the design of the contact between shaker and test object is crucial to achieve a high control bandwidth and at the same time reduce the energy consumption of the shaker. This leads to the practical application using a novel damping contact element. Finally, experimental test rig results are presented which show a closed loop bandwidth of at least 250 Hz for sinusoidal excitation signals.