Physical interpretation of independent component analysis in structural dynamics

This paper focuses on the relation between the vibration modes of mechanical systems and the modes computed through a blind source separation technique called independent component analysis (ICA). For free and random vibrations of weakly damped systems, a one-to-one relationship between the vibration modes and the ICA modes is demonstrated using the concept of virtual source. Based on this theoretical link, a time-domain structural system identification technique is proposed and is illustrated using numerical examples.