Using Photo Modeling to Obtain the Modes of a Structure

Photo modeling technology has progressed to the point where a dimensionally accurate 3D model can be economically constructed from a series of digital photographs of a structure. We show in this article how a photo model of a structure can be used to create an FEA model from which the modes of the structure can be calculated. The FEA mode shapes obtained from the photo models are then compared with the experimentally derived mode shapes of each structure to demonstrate the validity of this approach to FEA modeling.