LMS Test.Xpress Rev 2 introduces new applications for structural and acoustic testing

The LMS Test.Xpress noise and vibration analyzer offers an extensive set of certification testing and troubleshooting capabilities and covers a broad range of application areas. After the successful market introduction in 2006, LMS released Rev 2A of LMS Test.Xpress with a dedicated solution for modal impact testing and a new solution for ISO sound power measurements. With Rev 2A, LMS Test.Xpress also supports the new strain gage and charge modules of the LMS SCADAS Mobile data acquisition platform.

LMS Test.Xpress Rev 2A gains a dedicated solution for modal impact testing which completes the existing basic analyzer modes (FFT-Order-Octave-Time analyzer). The modal impact testing application provides a complete testing solution using Frequency Response Function measurements and an impact hammer. 

Test.Xpress employs a workflow based user interface which guides the user through the different steps of the modal impact acquisition - hammer trigger detection, calibration and quality checks, accept/reject of the results and increment of point numbers for both roving and fixed hammer measurements. The user guidance can be tailored to provide full assistance to novice or occasional users or to enhance the advanced requirements of expert users.

The LMS Test.Xpress solution can be complemented with the renowned LMS modal analysis software. Through modal analysis, users can analyze the inherent dynamic properties of a structure. Modal analysis is typically conducted when structural resonance, rather than frequency content of the dynamic excitation, is expected to be the root cause of a vibration problem at a given frequency. The extensive user guidance in the LMS Test.Xpress modal analysis solution allows even non-experts to successfully perform modal test campaigns. On the spot analysis capabilities enables users to analyze their test results during or shortly after the test.

The modal analysis solution in LMS Test.Xpress also offers the LMS PolyMAX curve fitting module and the Automatic Modal Parameter Selection (AMPS) tool, capable of automatically extracting a high-quality modal model within minutes. AMPS systematically ensures user-independent results and consistently succeeds in extracting modal model parameters much faster than any other approach. This drastically increases the reliability, overall quality and speed of modal analysis.

In the acoustical domain, LMS Test.Xpress Rev 2A delivers a dedicated solution for ISO Sound Power measurements based on the sound pressure technique. Test.Xpress supports the different ISO standards for free-field conditions, and the different testing procedures in both semi-anechoic and reverberant rooms according to the ISO3741, ISO3744, ISO3745 and ISO3746 standards. Starting from the sound power measurement results, the Test.Xpress software can also qualify products for compliance with the 2000/14/EC directive for outdoor equipment or the ISO7779 standard for computer and business equipment.

The LMS Test.Xpress Sound Power software guides the operator throughout the ISO based measurement by simplifying the selection of the measurement surface, setting up the parameters, calibrating the microphones, taking the measurements, and producing the reports according to company and/or ISO standards. The software allows users to select a microphone set-up for the 6/12 and the 10/20 channel configurations that are used in different international standards. The complete procedure from measurement to report generation is fully automated and protected by a user-defined password. This ensures the compliance with the ISO measurement process while at the same time delivering optimal productivity and minimizing the risk for operator errors.

LMS Test.Xpress Sound Power also includes a powerful automation tool that allows the definition of test schedules with specific measurement settings, a preferred data visualization format, appropriate numerical functions for data analysis and a company/ISO style report. This capability gives full flexibility to adapt the system to company-specific procedures or new standards.

Next to the new applications, LMS Test.Xpress Rev 2A also supports the new hardware modules on the LMS SCADAS Mobile front-end. Using a single slot in the LMS SCADAS Mobile system, the new VB8 module supports eight channel signal conditioning and signal processing for voltage and ICP∆ sensors, capacitive and piezoresistive accelerometers, and strain gages in full, half and quarter bridges configurations.

The LMS SCADAS Mobile VC8 module includes 8 input channels and supports signal conditioning and signal processing for voltage, ICP and piezoelectric sensors in a single LMS SCADAS Mobile slot. The VC8 offers the unique combination of ultra-low power consumption with high performance analog to digital conversion, as well as powerful digital signal processing. Up to five modules can be installed in a single LMS SCADAS Mobile SCM05 frame, delivering a very compact and multi-functional 40-channel system. LMS Test.Xpress also supports the connection of LMS SCADAS Mobile front-ends in master-slave mode, allowing users to combine multiple systems to hundreds of measurement channels. The Test.Xpress user interface has been tuned to manage such large amounts of channels, for example through an easier setup of displays and a grid overview covering all channels.