TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The experimental modal analysis requires good knowledge of various engineering fields, such as mechanical vibrations, transducers used in vibration measurement, transducers and system calibration methods, data acquisition systems, digital signal processing and system identification. Test facilities constitute a key factor for improving the quality of the estimated modal model. This paper aims to describe the experimental facilities at the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE) Modal Testing Laboratory in terms of associated instrumentation and data acquisition system, metrological aspects and computational resources. The discussion is completed with a practical application showing a ground vibration testing (GVT) of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).Design/methodology/approach The experimental facilities were evaluated in a typical GVT, using three shakers in both vertical and horizontal excitations and 88 response measurement points. The global excitation method was used to excite all desired modes. The reliability of the experimental modal model was validated by an auto modal assurance criterion matrix for the measured modes of the structure.Findings The experimental facilities were successfully used for validating the dynamical characteristics of the UAV under testing.Originality/value The modal test facilities of the Modal Testing Laboratory at the IAE, the main research center of the Brazilian Air Force, are described in this paper. VL - 89 IS - 2 SN - 1748-8842 DO - 10.1108/AEAT-04-2015-0099 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-04-2015-0099 AU - de Barros Everaldo AU - Juliani Fernando AU - de Camargo Leandro Ribeiro PY - 2017 Y1 - 2017/01/01 TI - Experimental facilities for modal testing T2 - Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 358 EP - 363 Y2 - 2024/04/18 ER -