Load identification by operational Statistical Energy Analysis inverse approach

Aim of this paper is to perform a load identification procedure based on Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) in operative conditions. Three coupled plates laying on a soft support is the test bed chosen to verify the efficiency of this investigated technique. By performing a Power Injection Method (PIM), the SEA parameters, are experimentally identified. These parameters allow to build a SEA model of the structure, that represents the starting point for the load identification procedure in operative conditions. The identification of the power injected in each subsystem is performed by calculating the energy of each plate starting from the dynamic response of the structure and the inversion of the SEA energy balance equation. A test is presented to identify a “rain-on-the-roof” load. The identified power injected is used together with “rain-on-the-roof” model to evaluate the actual load applied. The identified load is compared with the actual one to evaluate the accuracy of the results.