Frequently Asked Questions

Modal Shakers and Related Topics

Modal Shaker Related Questions
1. What is the advantage of a through-hole armature?
2. When do I need to use inertial masses? What frequency does it become important to use the
inertial masses?
3. How critical is alignment to shaker performance?
4. What is the best way to align the shaker when setting up a test?
5. Why does my shaker have multiple force ratings?
6. At what time during a modal test set up should the shaker be attached to the structure?
7. Should I disconnect the stingers while not testing?
8. What is a trunnion? What can I do with it?
9. How do I mount my shaker to the floor?
10. My shaker is vibrating out of place during the test, what should I do?
11. What is the best way to support my shaker to provide lateral inputs to my structure?
12. What are the most common practical failures in a shaker installation/operation?
13. What type of maintenance does my shaker require?
• Normal wear and tear. What to do?
• Broken/cracked flexure. What to do?
• Misaligned armature. What to do?
• Shorting of coils. What to do?

Amplifier Related Questions

14. What is the difference between the constant current and constant voltage settings on the power
amplifier for my shaker? What applications are best for each?
15. My amplifier has a current monitor output. What is it for?
16. How well does the amplifier current output correlate with the excitation force?
17. Can I use current to estimate the excitation force?
18. What is the importance of the frequency specification of the amplifier?

Stinger Related Questions

19. Why should I use stingers?
20. How do piano wire stingers work? How are they pre-tensioned?
21. How short (or long) should I make my stingers? What is the useable frequency range for force
input based upon stinger type and length?
22. Why should I use a “modal” stinger (thin rod type, like 2150 or 2155) instead of threaded rod
stinger?
23. How many degrees of misalignment can a standard stinger absorb at what inaccuracy level?
24. When do I use the aluminum composite tube around the nylon 10-32 threaded rod stinger?

Sensor Related Questions

25. What is the proper mounting technique for the force transducer?
26. What is an impedance head? Why should I use it?

Modal Excitation General Questions

27. What is the correct amplitude level for modal testing applications?
28. How many shakers should I use in my modal test?
29. How do I use an impact hammer to determine the proper position and alignment of my shakers
for modal testing?
30. What is the advantage of the different common excitation techniques – random, burst, chirp, sine,
etc.?
31. Why bother with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) testing? Why can’t you just run a Single
Input Single Output (SISO) test several times?

Modal Shaker FAQ Rev A 1

Modal Shaker Related Questions

1. What is the advantage of a through-hole armature?

With conventional vibration testing using a shaker with a traditional mounting platform design, the test
article is directly attached to the top surface of the armature with some base excitation applied, usually
monitored by controlling prescribed acceleration. The device under test (DUT) is normally subjected to an
operating environment, generic spectrum or an excessive environment to determine if the equipment is
suitable for the intended service. A typical configuration is shown.

TEST ITEM
ATTACHMENT FIXTURE
F
I
X
T EXPANDER HEAD

U
R SHAKER MOUNTING TABLE
E
DRIVER COIL
SHAKER ARMATURE

SHAKER BODY

SHAKER BASE

Figure 1 – Typical shaker qualification configuration

In the early days of modal testing with shaker excitation, smaller shakers were used to apply low level
excitation to be able to measure a frequency response function. Usually the shaker was attached with a
long rod, commonly referred to as a stinger or quill, in order to impart force to the structure. (The purpose
of the stinger was to try to dynamically decouple the shaker from the structure.)

Because these traditional shakers were typically used for base excitation, the armature attachment
configuration was not optimal. Usually, some type of left-right thread arrangement was made or af collar
was designed to enable an easier attachment to the shaker. It was a rather difficult arrangement no
matter how the connection was made. In addition, thought had to be given to shaker position and actual
length of the stinger needed. If a different length stinger was needed, then the shaker needed to be
reoriented and realigned as different stinger lengths were used for the modal test. Overall, the set up of
the shaker for a modal test was very difficult and cumbersome.

Due to all these problems, thought was given to specific design configurations that were better suited for
modal testing applications. This gave rise to the through-hole armature with a chuck and collet design
(like gripping a drill bit on a hand drill) that enabled very easy attachment of the shaker to the modal test
article. A long stinger can be slid into the shaker’s through-hole armature, threaded to the force
transducer attached to the test article, properly aligned, and then clamped down with the chuck and collet
at the appropriate length. These components are shown as an exploded view in Figure 2 below, and a
video demonstrating actual installment is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP_X-8TUtOU.
This design also accommodates stingers of different lengths if needed. This arrangement is so simple
that it is difficult to imagine having to set up the test without this important feature.

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 Force
Sensor
Modal Exciter or
2-part Impedance
chuck Head
assembly

collet
Stinger
thumb nut
armature Stinger (10-32)
(2150Gxx /2155Gxx)

Figure 2. Exploded view of shaker, two-part chuck, collet, stinger and force transducer.

2. When do I need to use inertial masses? What frequency does it become

important to use inertial masses?

Many times it is difficult to support a shaker from a floor-mounted fixture, such as the Model 2050A lateral
excitation stand shown in Figure 3 below. In these cases, the shakers may be hung from a support cable
attached above the test article. Often masses are attached to the base of the shaker trunnion to provide
more inertia to push against for improved performance, typically this only an issue at very low frequency
in the sub-10 Hz range.

Figure 3 – Typical shaker excitation setup

3. How critical is alignment to shaker performance?

The alignment of the shaker is very important. Significant misalignment may cause damage and/or
unnecessary wear to the shaker armature due to resulting side loads. In addition, the forces imparted to
the structure will be measured incorrectly due to transverse load components, and the measured
response functions will not be correct. This alignment issue causes difficulty in any shaker test. Care
must be taken to provide the best alignment possible to attain the best possible measurements.

(In a future updates of this FAQ, measured frequency response functions will be included to show the
distortion that may commonly result due to poor alignment.)

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4. What is the best way to align the shaker when setting up a test?

In setting up a shaker test, typically the stinger is slid into the shaker’s through-hole armature with the
force transducer or impedance head attached to the end of the stinger. With the shaker collet loosened,
the stinger can be extended in and out of the armature to obtain the desired length. Once this is done
then the force gage or impedance head mounting pad can be affixed to the structure; the mounting pad is
often attached using dental cement, two-part quick epoxy or a Loctite adhesive. Often a piece of foil
adhesive tape is first adhered to protect the surface of the test article, with the mounting pad bonded to
the tape.

If the alignment is correct, the shaker stinger will easily unthread from the force transducer or impedance
head AND also thread right back in without any binding or difficulty whatsoever. This should be
accomplished without the stinger putting side load onto the shaker armature, sliding easily within the
chuck and collet assembly, which assures that the shaker and stinger are properly aligned.

At times there may be a threaded mating hole in the structure for mounting the force gage or impedance
head and attaching the shaker. Alignment in these situations is much more difficult, requiring that the
shaker and/or the test article be moved such that the fixed threaded hole places the stinger exactly in the
correct position. The main point is that the shaker must be aligned such that the stinger can be very
easily threaded in to the force gage or impedance head with no difficulty or binding whatsoever.

5. Why does my shaker have multiple force ratings?

Shakers actually only have one maximum force rating. However, shaker systems (i.e. the electrodynamic
exciter paired with a specific power amplifier with accessories like a cooling package) have different
system ratings. For example, the 2100E11 modal shaker has a maximum force rating of 100 lb pk. To
attain this maximum force rating, the shaker must be driven by an amplifier with adequate power, for
example, the 2100E18 power amplifier, which is rated at 1000 W. Additionally, to attain this maximum
force rating without damaging the shaker, forced air cooling must be supplied to the shaker to dissipate
the heat generated from the current flowing through the coils using, for example, the 2050E03 cooling
package.

For typical modal applications, lower input force levels are desired. Therefore, the shaker can be used
with instrumentation amplifiers such as the 2050E05 or 2100E21-400 power amplifiers delivered with the
K2100E11 and K2100E035 systems respectively. The system solution includes certain features of
interest to modal test engineers, such as voltage and current monitoring of the amplifier output, safe start,
and a safety interlock that can be connected to the 2100E11 mechanical limit switches which prevents
over travel of the shaker armature. Given the 400 W nominal power rating of these power amplifiers, the
maximum attainable output force level of the system is only specified at 35 lb pk.

6. At what time during a modal test set up should the shaker be attached to the
structure?

When performing experimental modal analysis with shakers, generally all the accelerometers are
mounted and cables are run from the structure to the data acquisition system before the shakers are
attached to the test article. The shaker set up, stinger attachment, and alignment are usually the last
steps in the process. If attached before the rest of the instrumentation is set up on the structure, the
shaker could be damaged due to settling of the structure on its soft supports or shifting of the structure
during the course of test setup. This will cause misalignment of the shaker/stinger setup which may lead
to incorrect measurements. As a result, the shaker is generally the last item to be set up and aligned
when performing modal testing.

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7. Should I disconnect the stingers while not testing?

Whenever a modal test is performed using shaker excitation, the shakers should be disconnected from
the structure while data is not being acquired, whether it is between different test configurations or during
periods of inactivity, for example over a lunch break or overnight. There are many reasons for this.
During the set up of the test, there may be some shifting or settling of the test article. Commonly, airbag
soft support systems are used to provide a free-free boundary condition during testing. These may lose
air over time, shifting the structure. Additionally, an elastic shock cord (bungee) will creep in length over a
period of time. In between tests, there may be some reconfiguration of the test article for multiple sets of
test data. For instance, a vehicle’s gas tank may be empty in one test and then filled in another test.
Because of this, there may be a general shifting or redistribution of mass in the system, which in turn
causes shifting of the test article relative to the original alignment of the shakers to the structure.

If the shakers are attached during down time between tests while the structure undergoes necessary
reconfigurations, there may be side loads applied to the stinger attaching the shaker to the structure and
the alignment of the system may be disturbed. These side loads will potentially bend the stingers, or
worse, cause damage to the shaker armature. In addition, it may become difficult to disassemble the
stinger from the structure once the alignment has been disturbed.

If the shakers are disconnected during periods between test cycles, it will be obvious if any misalignment
has occurred upon reattaching the shakers for the next set of tests. If the original shaker alignment is
disturbed, then the shaker must be realigned in order to provide a proper attachment to the system.

8. What is a trunnion? What can I do with it?

The trunnion is a very important component of the shaker system. It is the “U” shaped support base that
supports the electrodynamic shaker body itself. The shaker trunnion allows the shaker to be rotated in
place and provides convenient mounting holes for hanging from a lateral excitation stand, for example the
2050A shaker stand. Without a trunnion, it is very difficult to set up a shaker for modal testing. The
trunnion allows the shaker to be configured in different skewed orientations and angles for excitation.
Skewing the input force can be particularly important for exciting structures with vertical and lateral modes
that are highly uncoupled. The trunnion is also beneficial when aligning the shaker to the structure for
modal testing.

Figure 4 – TMS 2100E11 modal shaker with trunnion and easy-turn handles

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9. How do I mount my shaker to the floor?

When setting up for shaker testing, the shaker must be aligned with the structure in order to excite the
structure in the desired direction. Most times the shaker force levels used are very low in amplitude with
no need to bolt the shaker to the floor or another mounting arrangement. However, there may still be
some vibration that transmits back through the base to the floor. In these cases, friction against the floor
alone may not be enough to stabilize the shaker and it should be firmly affixed to the floor. For low levels
of force, hot glue around the base is typically adequate. In instances where hot glue is not sufficient the
shaker may be attached with bolts or a clamping arrangement to the floor.

Another possibility when exciting at low force levels is to sit the shaker trunnion onto sand bags or rubber
mats. This approach may be quicker/easier that applying hot glue, but does not always work well enough
to maintain proper alignment since the shaker can still vibrate out of place. If shaker base vibration is
observed, make sure that the shaker alignment is checked during the sequence of testing to assure that
misalignment is not introduced. In addition, the driving point frequency response functions should be
routinely checked to make sure that no significant change in the system has occurred.

10.My shaker is vibrating out of place during the test, what should I do?

If the shaker is vibrating out of place, misalignment of the stinger and armature will likely be introduced
into the system. As discussed previously, proper alignment is critical to good quality measurements as
well as to prevent damage to the shaker itself. Therefore, it is necessary to attach the shaker firmly to a
base if exciting at levels that result in the shaker “walking about” during testing. In most cases hot glue
provides a temporary bond of the shaker to the floor, solving this issue. Please reference the previous
discussion on proper floor mounting techniques if this occurs.

11.What is the best way to support my shaker to provide lateral inputs to my

structure?

Usually a shaker stand such as the Model 2050A Lateral Excitation Stand (shown in Figure 4 below) or
equivalent is used. The shaker needs to be supported at four separate points to allow appropriate
horizontal motion of the shaker (as shown). At very low frequencies (below 5 to 10 Hz range), inertial
weight is added to enhance the performance of the shaker system. These are generally heavy metal
blocks that bolt onto the trunnion base, providing additional inertial mass for the exciter to push against
while generating force input to the test structure.

Figure 5 – Typical shaker measurement setup examples

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12.What are the most common practical failures in a shaker
installation/operation?

Misalignment of the stinger is often a significant problem in modal testing. Given a large enough
misalignment, the shaker armature coil windings will be damaged due to scraping. More commonly,
misalignment results in distortion and poor quality measured frequency response functions, which are
uncharacteristic representations of the true system. At times this will cause difficulties in estimating
modal parameters from data that has been contaminated with poor shaker alignment. This type of
measurement contamination is often overlooked because of other issues related to many inconsistencies
in the test structure system due to noise, nonlinearities and other effects. It is all too easy to overlook this
simple measurement issue due to other commonplace factors.

The main problem with shaker misalignment is that the force transducer or impedance head transmits
transverse loads that do not align with the sensing axis of the transducer normal to the surface. This
causes a distortion of the actual measured force that is applied to the structure. It is very important to
make the best possible measurement and alignment is an important part of this process.

Another problem will result when the structure is too compliant at the point of shaker attachment. As a
result, the shaker may not have enough stroke for the actual structure displacement observed during
testing. While displacement is one effect, consider the shaker coil’s velocity limitations (5.2 ft/s, around
62 ips for the 2100E11) as well. In these cases the structure wants to deflect (especially at resonant
frequencies) and the shaker cannot “keep up” with the actual displacement/velocity of the structure. This
causes a “force dropout” in the input force spectrum, especially at resonant frequencies. Many times this
will be referred to as impedance mismatch between the shaker and structure. In order to remedy this,
typically the shaker will need to be moved to another suitable input location where the structure is not as
compliant, yet still adequately excites all the modes of interest.

13.What type of maintenance does my shaker require?

• Normal wear and tear. What to do?
• Broken/cracked flexure. What to do?
• Misaligned armature. What to do?
• Shorting of coils. What to do?

The shaker is a sealed device requiring little or no regular maintenance if the operating instructions
described in the user manual are followed. Normal wear and tear of the shaker can be addressed by
cleaning the shaker body of debris. Pressurized shop air (through the body’s vent holes) can be used to
blow any free particles from the internals that may scrape the armature. Before attempting further
inspection or service, always disconnect the drive cable of the shaker from the power amplifier.

Damage to the armature’s flexure suspension due to either mechanical or electrical overdrive of the
shaker may be handled by replacing the damaged flexure elements with new ones. The moving armature
is suspended in the gap of the magnetic field circuit a set of radial flexures. Vertical foreshortening
flexures provide axial support as well as lateral and rotational restraint of the armature assembly. Use a
screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the shaker cover and inspect the armature suspension for
damaged flexures. Watch out for damaged, fatigued or discolored flexures, typically near the mounting
points. Damaged flexures must be replaced with new ones. Check that the armature is properly
centered in the gap and moving without interference before replacing the shaker cover and attempting to
use the shaker. If it appears that repairs are necessary, the shaker should be shipped to our facilities in
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Please contact The Modal Shop for details and to request an RMA (Return
Material Authorization) number.

Repair of damage to the coil, exciter body or magnet core should not be attempted in the field in any
circumstances. Regarding the health of the coil, the shaker should have a DC impedance around 1Ω
(models 2025E and 2060E) and between 3Ω to 4Ω for model 2100E11. Check the shaker impedance with
a multi-meter for a short or open circuit. If the measured impedance is much lower than expected, then
some of the coil windings may be shorted and the performance of the shaker will lessen. If the measured

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impedance is infinite, then the coil windings are open. In both cases, the unit should be sent back to The
Modal Shop for repair.

All shakers have an in-line fuse to protect the coil in the event of an electrical overdrive of the shaker.
The 2100E11 modal, for example, has an internal 10A fuse that can be inspected by removing the four
screws that hold the shaker cover. Other shaker models from The Modal Shop have the fuse in-line with
the cable inside a yellow capsule. Inspect the electrical wiring and replace the fuse with a new one if
necessary (spare supplied in the shaker accessory kit). Do not attempt to replace the fuse with a higher
current fuse as it will not protect the shaker in the case of another electrical overdrive.

Amplifier Related Questions

14.What is the difference between the constant current and constant voltage
settings on the shaker amplifier? What applications are best for each?

Most shakers for general use are set up with current amplifiers. When using some of the more common
shaker excitations techniques used today for modal testing, this does not provide for good frequency
response measurements. This is especially true for burst random excitation which is very widely used in
modal testing with single or multiple shakers. When using burst random excitation, the response of the
system needs to decay to zero before the end of the sample interval of the FFT analyzer time capture.
With current amplifiers, the armature of the shaker coil is allowed to freely float after the excitation is
terminated. For very lightly damped systems, the excitation and response may linger on well beyond the
sample interval.

However, when the amplifier is set up as a voltage amplifier, the back EMF effect (the electromotive force
caused by the structure motion driving the shaker armature through the coil) provides resistance to the
armature and helps to cause the system response to decay more quickly. This may seem to be
inappropriate because the shaker system is then supplying damping to the measurement, but is not an
issue as long as the force is measured for the entire measurement. Then the correct input-output
relationship is measured. (It is also important to note here that the force needs to be measured and not
the electrical parameters of the amplifier in order to make the correct measurement.)

15.My amplifier has a current monitor output. What is it for?

In some general shaker qualification type testing, it is common that the current may track reasonably well
with the actual force applied to the structure. As a result a current monitor is often provided by the
amplifier to make an easily measured force estimate. However, there no substitute for measuring the
actual force imparted to the structure during modal testing. Also, the force must be directly measured
when using an amplifier set in voltage mode. For modal applications, use of the current output is not
considered to be an accurate representation of the force applied to the structure in either mode,
particularly higher frequencies where dynamics within the stinger/force transducer setup assembly may
cause errors that would be undetected by monitoring the current only.

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16.How well does the amplifier current output correlate with the excitation force?

In some cases, the force and current may track together but this is not always the case. Therefore, it is
important to always measure the actual force imparted to the structure during shaker testing when
measuring frequency response functions. A dynamic piezoelectric force transducer should be used, such
as a PCB 288D01 impedance head (ideal for modal driving point measurements) or PCB 208 series force
transducer, for accurate force measurements.

17.Can I use amplifier current output to accurately estimate the excitation force
input to the test structure?

For applications of general vibration testing with large shakers, current is generally considered to be a
fairly good estimate of the force applied to the system. However, for modal testing, the shaker is set up
with a stinger to attach the shaker to the structure. The stinger assembly may also affect system
dynamics. As a result, the force transducer or impedance head should always be measured on the
structure side of the stinger in order to measure the force directly imparted to the structure. It is
imperative to use a force transducer to measure the actual force imparted to the structure. There is no
substitute for measuring the actual force.

18.What is the importance of the frequency specification of the amplifier?

Depending on the frequency range to be tested, the amplifier frequency range must also be considered to
insure that the excitation signal provided to the shaker is properly conditioned. If not, the amplifier itself
may induce significant distortion into the shaker’s drive signal, compromising the quality of the
measurement.

Stinger Related Questions

19.Why should I use stingers?

Stingers, sometimes also called quills, are required to perform modal testing with shakers. The shaker
head should never be directly attached to the structure for modal testing. This would provide very poor
frequency response measurements. If the shaker were to be directly attached to the structure, there
would be significant dynamic effects of the shaker imposed onto the structure, resulting in a dramatically
altered frequency response function.

Basically, the stinger decouples the shaker system from the structure and applies force to the structure.
The stinger is designed to be rigid in the axial direction and flexible in the lateral direction. Force
transducers measure axial force but still transmit forces into the structure through the transducer’s stiff
casing. Therefore, any sideloads transmitted to the structure by the stinger through the force transducer
are unmeasured and contribute noise on the measurement. A stinger that is properly designed, selected
and aligned will reduce or eliminate this potential problem.

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 Figure 6 – A typical shaker measurement setup with stinger

Of course the shaker’s dynamic subsystem will never be perfectly decoupled and there will practically
always be some slight cross-axis force input to the structure. The intent of the stinger design is to be very
stiff in the axial direction and extremely compliant to lateral loads to minimize this situation. The best
stinger for minimizing any affects of cross-axis force input is a piano wire stinger, such at The Modal Shop
model K2160G, which utilizes the through-hole armature design of a modal shaker allowing the wire to be
pretensioned to “push” force into the test structure. The piano wire is completely flexible in the lateral
direction, making it the optimal choice. Another alternative is a thin rod stinger design, such as The
Modal Shop 2150G12, which also utilizes the through-hole armature design. Since this design is a stiff
rod (rather than a wire) it does transmit some amount of force laterally. However, this style of stinger
does not need to be pretensioned, and thus greatly simplifies setup. As a result it is more commonly
used as an acceptable compromise of performance and ease-of-use.

The affects of the stinger assembly’s lateral stiffness on the overall system is very dependent on the
stiffness of the structure being tested. If the structure itself is stiff, then this is often not a serious concern.
However, when the structure is flimsy or has a significant amount of rotational effect at the attachment
point of the stinger then these lateral loads can become very important and a source of large
measurement error. In addition, these rotational effects generally become more important at higher
frequencies so it is always difficult to determine the actual impact on the overall results. One easy way to
determine the effects of the stinger lateral and rotational effects is to make several test runs with the
length of the stinger varying by +/- 10% and observe the change in the measured drive point frequency
response.

20.How do piano wire stingers work? How are they pre-tensioned?

Piano wire stingers are an excellent way to circumvent the problems with lateral stiffness associated with
conventional stingers. Essentially the piano wire has no lateral stiffness to speak of. The piano wire is
pretensioned with a load that is greater than the alternating load to be applied; a preload of 3 to 4 times
the range is considered reasonable. The piano wire is fed through the core of the through-hole shaker
armature; it is critical to have a modal shaker that is designed to accommodate this arrangement. A
simple preload can be applied with weights or an elastic tie-down strap. With the weight applied, the
collet is used to clamp the tensioned piano wire. As long as the applied load during shaker excitation is
less that the preload, then the piano wire is an excellent way to transmit force and conduct a modal test,
eliminating the effects of lateral stiffness in conventional stingers.

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21.How short (or long) should I make my stingers? What is the useable frequency
range for force input based upon stinger type and length?

The length of the stinger can be an issue in performing a modal test. Given too short of a stinger, the
structure will be less decoupled from the excitation system and there will be some dynamic effects of the
shaker on the dynamics of the structure. Given too long of a stinger, the stinger will buckle within the
frequency range of interest and insufficient force will be transmitted to the structure. The effects of this
would be evident in the force transducer’s power spectrum measurement. Ideally, the stinger is set up to
be as long as possible to maintain lateral flexibility but still short enough to transmit axial force without
buckling.

(In a future updates of these FAQ, additional information with quantified example data will be provided for
further understanding of this topic.)

22.Why should I use a “modal” stinger (thin rod type, like models 2150 or 2155)
instead of threaded rod stinger?

The modal stingers are professionally made with the specific intent of being used for modal testing. They
are intended to be used with modal shakers that are equipped with a through-hole armature design with a
chuck and collet for clamping the stinger. The stinger can easily slide in the chuck’s collet until aligned
and attached to the force transducer or impedance head, then tightened in place like a drill bit. The thin
rod is very weak in the lateral direction, minimizing the transmission of transverse force inputs. The
model 2150 series is just 1/16” diameter while the model 2155 series is 3/32” diameter, each with a 10-32
threaded stud brazed on the end to connect to the force transducer or impedance head attached on the
test structure. An ordinary threaded rod with a conventional shaker (not specifically designed for modal
testing) can be used, but set up and alignment are often difficult and cumbersome. Since these stinger
designs are threaded throughout, attaching them to a tapped hole at both the test structure and the
shaker armature, at the same time, is rather difficult. These are also typically much stiffer in the lateral
direction, generating transverse force inputs, a significant source of measurement error.

23.How many degrees of misalignment can a standard stinger absorb at what

inaccuracy level?

The stinger is intended to be used to transmit force only along the axis of the stinger. It is very difficult to
identify the exact level of inaccuracy that can be absorbed by a stinger. The thicker the stinger, the more
misalignment it can physically support, but the more transverse force will be input into the system
resulting in measurement error. The thinner the stinger, the more likely that any misalignment will bend
the stinger, damaging it. However, since stingers are (relatively) inexpensive and intended to essentially
be a mechanical fuse in your test setup, it is better to have an error in this direction. If you continue to
bend stingers, damaging them beyond future use, it would follow that you have too much misalignment.
At some point the quality of the measured data is suspect as well; however, this is dependent not just on
the stinger but also on the structure under test and the frequency range to be considered.

(In a future updates of these FAQ, additional information with quantified example data will be provided for
further understanding of this topic.)

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24.When do I use the aluminum composite tube around the nylon 10-32 threaded
rod stinger?

The aluminum composite tube around the threaded rod is intended to provide additional stiffness to the
stinger. Often times these are shipped together and they are installed and used “as is” for modal testing.
Many times the aluminum composite tube provides too much lateral stiffness and may cause distortion of
the measurement system. One way to determine the effect is to test the structure with and without the
aluminum composite tube and further compare these results with a longer stinger configuration. If there
is no difference in any of the measured drive point frequency response functions then there is no concern.
But if there are differences, then assessment of the measured functions and which stinger system is most
appropriate for the modal test needs to be identified.

Sensor Related Questions

25.What is the proper mounting technique for the force transducer?

A very important consideration when mounting force transducers is recognition that force transducers are
“directional”. This means that force transducers are designed to accurately measure force on only one of
its two mounting faces, for example labeled “TOP” and “BASE” on the PCB model 208 series. This is
shown in Figure 7 below, showing a 208 series force transducer mounted to a 2155G12 rod style stinger.
Note that for this model force transducer the “TOP” of the unit is the designed sensing surface and should
be mounted directly to the test article. Some transducers, like the PCB model 288D01 impedance head,
have an indication of exactly which side to mount to the structure. In any case, please consult the force
transducer’s user manual for identifying which mounting surface is intended to measure the force
accurately. This is due to the fact that the force transducer itself has mass and stiffness. They are
designed and calibrated to read force accurately on one of its mounting faces, and thus need to be
installed accordingly.

Figure 7. PCB 208 series force transducer, shown installed on a TMS 2155G12 modal stinger

Another important consideration is that the force transducer should always be mounted directly to the test
structure, between it and the stinger and shaker assembly. If the force gage is mounted on the exciter
side, as shown in the illustration in Figure 8, then the dynamics of the stinger become part of the
measured function. This is generally only an issue when using conventional shakers for modal
applications because modal shakers have the through-hole armature design and would not accommodate
mounting the force transducer in such a fashion.

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 Figure 8 – A typical stinger setup showing proper force transducer location relative to the test article,
threaded stinger rod and exciter.

The force transducer is usually mounted using a threaded adhesive mounting base, firmly attached to the
test structure using dental cement or quick dry epoxy. Dental cement is ideal because it is extremely stiff,
providing rigid attachment within the frequency range of typical modal testing. If the test structure can be
drilled and tapped with an appropriate thread, directly attaching the force transducer to the structure is the
best solution.

26.What is an impedance head? Why should I use it?

An impedance head, like PCB Piezotronics model 288D01, is a transducer that measures both force and
resulting response in one device. Today, this is typically an accelerometer and force transducer but in the
past it was a velocity transducer and force transducer (which is where the name impedance head comes
from and has lingered on even today though velocity is rarely measured). This is a critical measurement
in experimental modal analysis and it is recommended that impedance heads be used in most cases. A
combination of a separate force transducer and accelerometer, mounted next to each other, is often used
instead, but the convenience of measuring the driving point with a single transducer and validating
reciprocity between input locations is best obtained with an impedance head.

Modal Excitation General Questions

27.What is the correct amplitude level for modal testing applications?

The excitation levels for modal testing are usually reasonably low. There is no need to provide large
force levels for conducting a modal test especially if appropriate response transducers (accelerometers)
are selected with good sensitivity and resolution, as well as high quality, high resolution (24 bit technology
standard in today’s commercial offerings) data acquisition systems. The level only needs be sufficient
enough to make good measurements. In fact, larger force levels tend to overdrive the structure, exciting
nonlinear characteristics of the structure and providing poorer overall measurements than with lower level
force tests. For this reason on larger structures, it is often desired to use multiple shakers at lower force
levels to more evenly distribute force than a single shaker at a high level.

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28.How many shakers should I use in my modal test?

The number of shakers is often a difficult question to answer. Frequently we are limited by the total
number of output sources in the data acquisition system or shakers available in the test lab for modal
testing. Usually two to four shakers are sufficient for most tests, particularly when testing larger structures
like automobiles or aircraft; tests with more than five shakers are rare. Ultimately, there need to be
enough shakers acting as reference locations positioned so that all of the modes of the structure are
adequately excited and observed and good frequency response measurements are obtained. This
includes having multiple shaker/reference locations to resolve repeated roots and/or closely spaced
modes.

29.How do I use an impact hammer to determine the proper position and

alignment of my shakers for modal testing?

The proper locations for shakers are heavily dependent on the frequencies and mode shapes to be
extracted. Their location should be at points of adequate displacement in each of the modes of interest.
It is common to perform pretest analysis using an impact hammer, like the PCB model 086 series, and an
accelerometer to determine suitable “active” locations at each of the modes of interest. Impact hammers
are very convenient because they provide hand-held freedom and flexibility to rove around the structure
to test a large number of “trial points” to get an idea of the structural response. Then shakers can be set
up at the necessary locations to adequately observe all of the modes simultaneously.

The location of the shaker is called the reference location for a modal test. If an inappropriate location is
selected, then some of the modes may not be adequately excited and measured. This is another reason
why multiple input shaker tests are conducted. But even with a MIMO test arrangement, much
consideration needs to be given to the appropriate shaker reference locations. Suffice it to say that all of
the modes need to be adequately excited by the reference location selected.

30.What is the advantage of the different common excitation techniques –

random, burst, chirp, sine, etc.?

The main excitation technique used in modal testing today is burst random, used more often than others
such as random, sine chirp and digital stepped sine. These are discussed with some brief comments.
(Other techniques such as pseudo-random, periodic random, burst chirp and others are variations on
these signals and are not discussed at length here.)

Random excitation was one of the first excitation techniques used because it was simple to create. The
problem with random excitation is that the signal is never periodic in the sample interval of the FFT
measurement and requires a window (commonly a Hanning window) to mediate the effects of leakage.
Unfortunately, even with a window applied, the frequency response measurement suffers from leakage
especially at the resonant peaks of the measurement.

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 AUTORANGING AVERAGING WITH WINDOW

1 2 3 4

Figure 9 – A typical measurement sequence for random excitation

0s 1.999s 0Hz 400Hz

0s 1.999s 0Hz AVG: 10 400Hz

Figure 10 – Input and output random time with FRF and coherence

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Sine chirp is an excellent technique for testing systems that are fairly linear. This signal is a very fast
swept sine where the frequency is swept from low frequency to high frequency within the time of one
sample of the FFT analyzer. As a result, the signal is periodic in the sample interval once steady state
response is achieved. This signal does not require any windows and does not suffer from leakage.

AUTORANGING AVERAGING

1 2 3 4

Figure 11 – A typical measurement sequence for sine chirp excitation

0s 1.999s 0Hz 400Hz

0s 1.999s 0Hz AVG: 10 400Hz

Figure 12 – Input and output sine chirp time with FRF and coherence

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Burst random excitation was developed in the early 80s and has remained as one of the more commonly
used excitation techniques for experimental modal testing. The vast majority of all shaker modal tests
today employ burst random technique.

Burst random is formed as follows: A random excitation is generated but is only applied for a portion of
the data block. In this way, the excitation signal is totally observable within one sample interval of the
FFT analyzer and there is no need for the use of windows since there is no leakage associated with the
captured signal. (Note: Providing that the response measured on the structure is also totally observable
within one sample interval of the FFT analyzer then there is no need for the use of windows since there is
no leakage associated with the captured signal.) However, once the excitation is turned off, the structural
response will die exponentially depending on the damping associated with the structure. If the response
of the structure does not die out within one sample interval, then the burst should be shortened such that
the response does end before the end of the sample interval. The burst can be controlled by specifying
the percentage of the block over which the excitation is to be applied. Generally, this can be
accomplished with most structures.

AUTORANGING AVERAGING

1 2 3 4

Figure 13 – A typical measurement sequence for burst random excitation

0s 1.999s 0Hz 400Hz

0s 1.999s 0Hz AVG: 10 400Hz

Figure 14 – Input and output burst random time with FRF and coherence

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31.Why bother with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) testing? Why can’t
you just run a Single Input Single Output (SISO) test several times?

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) testing requires the use of multiple shakers to excite the structure
with uncorrelated signals supplied to each of the shakers. This requires that all the shakers be
simultaneously attached to the structures for the modal test, as well as separate independent
uncorrelated output sources from the data acquisition system.

While it seems possible to test the structure with one shaker and then move that shaker to all the different
shaker locations, conducting the test in this manner typically results in an inconsistent set of frequency
response functions. This can be due to a variety of reasons such as an inconsistent mass load
distribution from roving transducers or environmental changes altering the structure’s mass and stiffness
properties. When the different sets of data are combined, the resulting frequency responses are not as
consistent as when all the data is collected simultaneously. The best measurement results have been
achieved when all of the test data is acquired in a “single snapshot,” eliminating any issues related to time
invariance or structure stationarity.

To illustrate this point, reciprocal frequency response measurements were taken with a single shaker
moved between two different locations using a SISO approach. Each measurement was taken twice, first
using a random and then a burst random signal to illustrate the differences. The results are shown in
Figure 15. Notice that the random signal has more variance and suffers from leakage even though a
Hanning window was used. Clearly there is a difference in the two measurements shown; these two
measurements should be exactly the same.

This measurement was repeated with a MIMO approach. Again a random excitation with a Hanning
window and a burst random excitation were used. The variance using the random excitation can still be
seen in the measurement even using the MIMO approach. Notice that the burst random MIMO approach
provides the best measurement overall with a good frequency response where reciprocity is observed in
the measurement.

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 SISO

SISO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #1

SISO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #1 & #2

RANDOM
SISO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #2
HANNING

SISO

SISO - BURST RANDOM - REF #1

SISO - BURST RANDOM - REF #1 & #2

BURST
SISO - BURST RANDOM - REF #2
RANDOM

Figure 15 – SISO Reciprocity FRF with Random (top) - Burst Random (bottom)

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 MIMO

MIMO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #1

MIMO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #1 & #2

RANDOM
MIMO - RANDOM - HANNING - REF #2
HANNING

MIMO

MIMO - BURST RANDOM - REF #1

MIMO - BURST RANDOM - REF #1 & #2

BURST
MIMO - BURST RANDOM - REF #2
RANDOM

Figure 16 – MIMO Reciprocity FRF with Random (top) - Burst Random (bottom)

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