Parameter identification for the beam equation using Galerkin´s criterion

The identification of parameters in the beam equation is investigated. The equations are assumed known to within a set of unknown constant parameters. The boundary and initial conditions associated with the Partial Differential Equation (PDE) are assumed known explicitly. This paper utilizes Galerkin´s Criterion of the Method of Weighted Residuals (MWR) to transform the PDE problem into an ordinary differential equation problem. The step by step identification procedure is illustrated by the identification of parameters in the beam equation. A test apparatus was constructed and the parameters of the test beam were identified using the actual measurements as input data for the identification procedure.