Open-Source Programme for Modal Testing

A set of modal testing software has been developed for use in the academia. The supporting platform of the software is much cheaper than propriety modal analysis software, thus all research students can run modal testing on their own computers. The data acquisition part of software is based on LABView® Sound and Vibration Toolkit and the signal processing part is an improvement on existing open-source modal analysis programs. New functions are added to deal with experimental data. An example of modal testing on a steel plate is presented to show the accuracy of the procedure, and the measured modes are used to carry out mass cancellation. Possible directions of development are discussed.