New Concepts in Aircraft Ground Vibration Testing
A collaborative demonstration and development test was performed on a 737-200 transport airplane, during October 2003. The objective was to demonstrate, develop, or explore several concepts that offer promise of breakthrough efficiencies in the modal testing of airplanes, or ground vibration testing. Participants from an aircraft manufacturer, a university, and measurement hardware and software vendors conducted the test. Concepts were explored in instrumentation, sensor setup, excitation, and data processing - some of which are laboratory proven but new in application to full-scale airplane testing. Briefly summarized, the results show potential for significant timesaving (over current practice) in situations where test requirements permit.
The project described in this article was devoted to demonstrating new technology and exploring concepts, which, if not new, have not been traditionally applied to ground vibration testing of aircraft. The test was unusual in several respects: It was conducted on a shoestring budget with a borrowed airplane in a borrowed hangar. The participants were from diverse organizations representing a university, an aircraft manufacturer, and several vendors of instrumentation.