Free-Decay Nonlinear System Identification via Mass-Change Scheme

Methods for nonlinear system identification of structures generally require input-output measured data to estimate the nonlinear model, as a consequence of the noninvariance of the FRFs in nonlinear systems. However, providing a continuous forcing input to the structure may be difficult or impracticable in some situations, while it may be much easier to only measure the output. This paper deals with the identification of nonlinear mechanical vibrations using output-only free-decay data. The presented method is based on the nonlinear subspace identification (NSI) technique combined with a mass-change scheme, in order to extract both the nonlinear state-space model and the underlying linear system. The technique is tested first on a numerical nonlinear system and subsequently on experimental measurements of a multi-degree-of-freedom system comprising a localized nonlinearity.