Modal Testing of a Nose Cone Using Three-Dimensional Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry

The Structural Dynamics department at Sandia National Laboratories has acquired a 3D Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer system for making vibration and modal test measurements. This paper presents the results of testing performed to examine the capabilities and limitations of that system. The test article under consideration was a conical part with two different surface materials which allowed the examination of the effect of angle of incidence and surface reflectivity on the measurement. The system was operated in both 1D and 3D modes, and the results from the 1D scan were compared to a scan performed with a previous generation system to evaluate the improvements between the generations. Data from the laser systems were exported to standard curve fitting software, and modes were fit to the data.