Identification of the Mechanical Joint Parameters with Model Uncertainty

Joint parameter identification is a key problem in the modeling of complex structures. The behavior of joint may be random due to the random properties of preload and joint geometries, contact surface and its finish, etc. A method is presented to simulate the joint parameters as probabilistic variables. In this method the response surface based model updating method and probabilistic approaches are employed to identify the parameters. The study implies that joint parameters of some structures have normal or nearly normal distributions, and a linear FE model with probabilistic variables could illustrate dynamic characteristics of joints.