Design of multisine excitations to characterize the nonlinear distortions during FRF-measurements

In this paper multisine excitation signals are designed which will be used to detect and qualify the nonlinear distortions on FRF measurements, and this without making additional experiments. The kernel idea in this method is to apply well chosen periodic excitations where not all harmonics are excited. The nonexcited frequency lines are used to detect, qualify and quantify the nonlinear distortions, while the FRF is measured at the same time at the excited harmonics. Since not every multisine yields optimal results, this paper presents some signals by which the following purposes are accomplished: simplicity, robustness and a reliable nonlinear characterization.