Virtual testing for de-risking Vibration Control Tests

The following Master thesis focuses its attention on the paramount importance of virtual testing in the qualification campaign of aerospace components. The use of a protoflight approach in the space industry to conduct vibration testing on satellites calls for the introduction of pretest activities to de-risk the testing campaign. In this context, virtual shaker testing methodologies aim at simulating the vibration control test setup with multidisciplinary modelling tools enabling the prediction of the behavior of the coupled system, including the test specimen. To address these challenges, the study examines a testbed specifically developed to overcome boundary condition issues. A comprehensive analysis was conducted, embracing both analytical and experimental techniques, which allowed to understand the dynamic characteristics of the specimen. The results were then integrated into a more complex framework, aimed at implementing dynamic substructuring algorithms and coupling methods, which are essential for studying the interactions between a specimen and the shaker in an experimental scenario. The findings of this research highlight the potential of these methodologies to reduce the reliance on overtesting, leading to a more accurate and efficient testing process.