An Investigation into the Potential Application of Wavelets to Modal Testing and Analysis
The analysis of transient data of the type found in vibrating mechanical systems has been greatly improved through the use of modern techniques such as Fourier analysis. This is especially true when considered in conjunction with the development of the so-called Fast Fourier Transform algorithm by Cooley and the tremendous strides in computational power of the last several decades. The usefulness of the discrete Fourier Transform is its ability to transform sampled data from the "time-domain" to the "frequency domain," thereby allowing the analyst to decompose a signal into its frequency content. More recent developments have led to the wavelet transform. The strength of wavelet analysis is its ability to maintain both time and frequency information, thus making it an attractive candidate for the analysis of non-stationary signals. This report is an overview of wavelet theory and the potential use of the wavelet transform as an alternative to Fourier analysis in modal identification.