Assessing the Influence of Fourier Analysis Parameters on Short-Time Modal Parameter Extraction

It is sometimes necessary to determine the manner in which materials and structures deteriorate with respect to time when subjected to sustained random dynamic loads. In such cases a system’s fatigue characteristics can be obtained by continuously monitoring its modal parameters. This allows for any structural deterioration, often manifested as a loss in stiffness, to be detected. Many common structural integrity assessment techniques make use of Fourier analysis for modal parameter extraction. For continual modal parameter extraction, the Fourier transform requires that a compromise be made between the accuracy of the estimates and how frequently they can be obtained. The limitations brought forth by this compromise can be significantly reduced by selecting suitable values for the analysis parameters, mainly subrecord length and number of averages. Further improvements may also be possible by making use of spectral enhancement techniques, specifically overlapped averaging and zero padding. This paper uses the statistical analysis of results obtained from numerous physical and numerical experiments to evaluate the influence of the analysis parameters and spectral enhancement techniques on modal estimates obtained from limited data sets. This evaluation will assist analysts in selecting the most suitable inputs for parameter extraction purposes. The results presented in this paper show that when using the Fourier transform to extract modal characteristics, any variation in the parameters used for analysis can have a significant influence on the extraction of natural frequency estimates from systems subjected to random excitation. It was found that for records containing up to 10% noise, subrecord length; hence spectral resolution, has a more pronounced influence on the accuracy of modal estimates than the level of spectral averaging; therefore spectral uncertainty. It was also found that while zero padding may not increase the actual spectral resolution, it does allow for improved natural frequency estimates with the introduction of interpolated estimates at the nondescribed frequencies. Finally, it was found that for modal parameter extraction purposes (in this case natural frequency), increased amounts of overlapped averaging can significantly reduce the variance of the estimates obtained. This is particularly useful as it allows for increased precision without compromising temporal resolution.