A survey of current inertia parameter identification methods

The knowledge of the 10 inertia parameters mass, centre of gravity and inertia tensor (moments and products of inertia) of mechanical systems is of great interest whenever the dynamic behaviour is significantly governed by these parameters. In this paper, a survey of currently available inertia parameter identification methods shall be given. At first, the governing equations of motion will bi: summarised. Then a classification of the identification methods will be presented that is based on the general equations of motion of a rigid body and their simplifications with respect to several linearisation steps. In addition, the individual methods will be highlighted in detail while the requirements will be discussed and attainable accuracy limits are given where possible. (C) 2001 Academic Press.