Vibrations of mechanical structures: source localization and nonlinear eigenvalue problems for mode calculation

This work addresses two primary topics related to vibrations in structures. The first topic is the use of a spatially distributed sensor network for localization of vibration events. I use a received signal strength (RSS) framework that presumes exponential energy decay with distance to the source. I derive the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for this parameter estimation problem, with the unknown parameters being source location, source intensity, and the energy dissipation rate. In this framework, I show that the CRB matches the variance of maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) in more computationally expensive Monte Carlo trials. I also compare the CRB to the results of physical experiments to test the power of the CRB to predict spatial areas where MLEs show practical evidence of being ill-conditioned. Supported by this evidence, I recommend the CRB as a simple measure of localization accuracy, which may be used to optimize sensor layouts before installation. I demonstrate how this numerical optimization may be performed for some regions of interest with simple geometries. The second topic investigates modal vibrations of multi-body structures built from simple one-dimensional elements, with networks of elastic strings as the primary example. I introduce a method of using a nonlinear eigenvalue problem (NLEVP) to express boundary conditions of the vibrating elements so that the (infinitely many) eigenvalues of the full structure are the eigenvalues of the finite-dimensional NLEVP. The mode shapes of the structure can then be recovered in analytic form (not as a discretization) from the corresponding eigenvectors of the NLEVP. I show some advantages of this method over dynamic stiffness matrices, which is another NLEVP framework for modal analysis. In numerical experiments, I test several contour integration solvers for NLEVPs on sample problems generated from string networks.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mathematics

Department dc:contributor.department

Mathematics

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Baker, Jonathan Peter

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Embree, Mark P.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Gugercin, Serkan
• Sarlo, Rodrigo
• Beattie, Christopher A.

• mechanical vibrations
• sensor networks
• Cramér-Rao bound
• controllability matrices
• nonlinear eigenvalue problems

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:37786

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/115129