New excitation signals for aircraft ground vibration testing

For the last 12 years, DLR and ONERA are involved in the realization of the Ground Vibration Testing (GVT) campaigns for AIRBUS civil aircrafts. Continuous developments are carried out in order to improve the test productivity without jeopardizing the quality of the experimental database deliveries, especially in the case of non-linear structural behaviors. Among the recent developments, DLR and ONERA are suggesting new excitation stimuli, such as multi-sine sweeps and low crest factor random signals. These signals have been tested during a research GVT campaign in March and April 2011, on an A340-600 aircraft. This paper is devoted to assessing the relevance of these new signals within an industrial context.