The Structural Dynamics Group operates mainly in three fields: inverse dynamics, stochastic mechanics and dynamic simulation, with a mixture of theoretical and experimental methods.
Inverse Dynamics
In inverse dynamics the study include the system identification problem, namely that from measurements of the system’s stimuli and response, to develop mathematical models of the system. A special application here is to calibrate FE models against measured data.
Another class of inverse problems that is studied is the load identification problem, ie that with knowledge of system characteristics and measured system response search for the dynamic loads that cause this response.
Stochastic Mechanics
In stochastic mechanics, the group studies how the inevitable variations in a system’s characteristics affect its dynamic behavior. Statistical data for such studies are gathered from field tests.
Dynamic Simulation
The development of methods for dynamic simulation is primarily dedicated to simulation of train dynamics, where the modeling of the moving contact between wheel and rail is a special challenge.