Several experimentally-based methods using frequency response functions have been developed by many authors for determining the rigid body inertia properties of complex structures. Among these methods, an inertia restraint method which uses massline values as input, is known to be comparatively insensitive to measurement noises. However, since the accuracy of solutions identified by this method is correlated to measurement locations and excitation points/directions, it is very important to select them properly for reliable results.
In this work, the error analysis on the determination of rigid body inertia properties is performed statistically, and the major factors affecting the accuracy of them are derived, and approximated to physical quantities. By virtue of investigating their characteristics and the matrix-vector relationship, an unique procedure is developed to select the response measurement locations and excitation points/directions, minimizing the error of identified results.
The suggested method was experimentally applied to a 3-dimensional rigid body.
