Vibration and Performance Testing with Small Digital Test Systems

Recent advances in electronics and technical advances in testing techniques have made the smaller Fourier Analyzer test systems much more attractive as a more portable, more flexible alternative to large, rack-mounted minicomputer-based test systems. This paper will review numerous experimental tests performed in structural dynamics and operating performance by mechanical engineers in terms of their speed, data base size, calculation complexity, and transducer interface requirements in an attempt to clarify the position of the smaller test system in the mechanical engineering test profession.