Hybrid holographic-numerical method for modal analysis of complex structures

This paper presents a hybrid holographic-numerical method for modal analysis of complex structures. A continuous structure is first lumped into a number of discrete elements to form an elastically connected lumped linear system. The matrix of influence coefficients of the lumped linear system are then determined by exerting a static load to the element centers and measuring the corresponding whole-field displacement using digital holographic interferometry. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the influence coefficients, which in a physical sense represent the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the structure, are then calculated using the numerical method. A major advantage of the proposed hybrid method is that it is not necessary to know the Young's modulus, the Poisson's ratio of the material and the boundary conditions, as the displacement field measured by the optical method has automatically reflected the real boundary conditions and the material properties, which makes this method particularly useful for studying objects made from anisotropic materials such as composites. Another advantage of the proposed method is that structures of any complex and irregular shape will not increase the complexity of the characterization process. The proposed is also suitable for experimentally validating the modal analysis results from finite element method models.