Removing adverse effect of measurement process in flotation method

Abstract

Ground simulation of space quasi-zero gravity environment is essential in modal testing of space structures. The air flotation method is widely used, in which the air cushion unit is attached to the measured structure. This inevitably increases the total mass of the structure to be tested and leads to the incorrect prediction of modal parameters. And irregular airflow disturbances of the air cushion unit also have negative effects on the test. The fast elimination method is presented to remove the adverse impact in the test data based on measured frequency response functions. Numerical simulations are performed employing the magnetometer structure. Results show that this method effectively removes the adverse mass and the airflow effect.