Signal processing for vibration control

Environmental testing of structures calls for the application of controlled vibration in conjunction with other elements of a stress screening environment. The author describes some of the requirements of such a system when used for random, shock and swept-sine tests, which are those most commonly specified. The requirements are considered in terms of the instrumentation details needed to satisfy the constraints at a reasonable cost. Attention is focused on the signal processing aspects which include digital filtering and interpolation, Fourier transformation and signal synthesis as well as a variety of more specialised algorithms. Consideration is given to a suitable architecture based around a multi-processor instrument using Motorola MC68010 microprocessors and an Analog Devices ADSP-2100 digital signal processor. A brief overview is given of the algorithms used and their implementation