Dynamic Characteristic Identification

Abstract

This paper introduces a dynamic system parameter extraction using experimental data and a known characteristic equation for a single degree of freedom system. The efficacy of curve fitting to determine mass, damping, and stiffness for simulated underdamped, critically damped, and overdamped systems is explored. Two methods are explored to obtain these characteristics using a step response approach in the time domain or a transfer function and dynamic stiffness approach in the frequency domain for simulated systems. Commonly available software, MATLAB, is used for curve fitting. An examination of the effect of inaccurate seeds, or starting values, for mass, damping, and stiffness is included.