Actuator and sensor location for structural identification and control

A procedure is presented for location of sensors and exciters in structural testing, based on data from all a priori finite element model. In a first step, a sub-set of sensors is placed on a candidate set of response measurement locations such that the linear independence of target mode shapes is maximized. In the second step, excitation degrees of freedom are ranked according to their contribution to tile frequency response information. A criterion based on the multivariate mode indicator function is used to establish the minimum number of exciters and to assess the quality of tile chosen set. Numerical simulations illustrate application of the procedure.