Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry Research Articles

Extension of continuous scanning laser Doppler vibrometry measurement for complex structures with curved surfaces

The continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (SLDV) developed on the base of the galvanometer scanner system has made it possible to quickly obtain the full field vibration responses within a rectangular area of the structure. In this paper, an arbitrary continuous scanning path generating method for Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibometry (CSLDV) is further put forward in order to allow the CSLDV suitable for testing structures featured by complex shapes not just for regular areas. In the first step, the relationship between position of laser spot and the driving voltages of galvanometer scanner system has been described by a mathematical modeling. Then, a novel arbitrary scanning path generating strategy based on CSLDV is presented by deforming a normalization rectangular scanning path to an arbitrary continuous scanning path. The mapping relation between the normalization rectangular scanning path and arbitrary continuous scanning path is established using the reference points. In the second step, a compressor blade with curved surface was taken as an example for modal test using the proposed method. At the same time, a validated experiment was performed in SLDV. The results show the mode shapes derived from the extended CSLDV are in agreement with those from SLDV and the Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) between the two are all greater than 0.96. They also demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method for CSLDV test and show strong potential on further practical engineering applications.

Fast modal rotation measurement using a dual sinusoidal-scan continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer

Rotational degrees of freedom (DOF) are usually indirectly derived from the measured translational DOF in structural dynamic tests by using the finite difference method. However, the noise of translational DOF measurement is easily propagated and further amplified when the finite difference method is employed to obtain the rotational DOF. Therefore, the accuracy of the obtained rotational DOF was rather poor. In order to overcome this disadvantage, a novel approach of using a dual sinusoidal-scan continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) with the objective of obtaining the structural modal rotational DOFs is put forward in this paper. For plate structures, the operational deformation shape of the normal translational DOFs can be measured and described with polynomial functions through the modulation of CSLDV output signals. Then, rotational out-of-plane DOFs can be achieved with respect to the first derivatives of the polynomial functions along orthogonal directions. In such a way, the measurement noise that considerably affects the rotational out-of-plane DOFs derived from normal translational DOF can be significantly eliminated. The approach is validated experimentally with a cantilever plate structure, and a comparison with the results obtained from discrete point measurement is given. The results demonstrate the noticeable improvement in accuracy and spatial resolution of the proposed technique.

Damage Detection Using Modal Rotational Mode Shapes Obtained with a Uniform Rate CSLDV Measurement

With the rapid development of a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) technique, the full-field mode shapes of structures with high accuracy can be obtained. In this paper, a novel damage detection method using modal rotational mode shapes obtained with a uniform rate CSLDV measurement is proposed. The modal rotational damage indicators considering the changes of modal rotational mode shapes between the damaged and the undamaged states are established. Because the modal rotational mode shapes are obtained through the derivative of the detailed displacement mode shapes of transitional degree-of-freedoms (DOFs) with respect to the orthogonal directions, they are more sensitive than the normal displacement mode shapes. The uniform rate CSLDV measurement is essentially a uniform straight-line scanning technique and the measured mode shapes can be directly obtained through the demodulation of vibration signals. Besides, taking it for granted that a priori knowledge of the undamaged structure is not known, the undamaged mode shapes can be reconstructed from the measured damaged data using the fitted polynomial functions in which the minimum number of polynomial function coefficients are determined by a fit value threshold. The proposed method is firstly demonstrated by numerical simulation of the crack plate and then a plate structure with three damaged cases is taken as an example for further experimental study. The experimental results indicate the following: (1) The uniform rate CSLDV measurement can obtain the high accuracy modal rotational mode shapes with the advantage of eliminating the contaminated noise in the measurement; (2) the modal rotational damage indicators of the torsional modes are the most sensitive to the crack damage and they can clearly identify single, multiple damages and locations of the plate, and even slight crack damage, respectively. The effectiveness of the method paves the way for practical applications, such as ultra-light or composite structures.

A Comprehensive Study on Detection of Hidden Delamination Damage in a Composite Plate Using Curvatures of Operating Deflection Shapes

The aim of this work is to investigate the accuracy and sensitivity of a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) for detection of hidden delamination damage in composite plates. Some work on using a CSLDV for detection of damage in aluminum beams and plates has been done by the authors. The current work is related to a worldwide round robin study sponsored by the Society of Experimental Mechanics. The main difference between the current work and previous work is that the damaged composite plate was provided by the organizer of the round robin study instead of being made by the authors. Hence, the authors have no information about locations of the damage, which means this is more like a blind test. The most significant advantage of using a CSLDV for vibration measurement of a structure is that a spatially dense operating deflection shape (ODS) of the structure can be obtained and further used to calculate the curvature of the ODS (CODS). A comprehensive study to detect the hidden damage in the composite plate by using the first seven CODSs from the corresponding ODSs of the plate is conducted. The study shows that different CODSs have different sensitivities to local anomaly induced by the damage and only two of the seven CODSs can be used to detect the locations of the hidden damage.

Operational modal analysis using lifted continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer measurements and its application to baseline-free structural damage identification

A continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is capable of efficient and spatially dense vibration measurements by sweeping its laser spot along a scan path assigned on a structure. This paper proposes a new operational modal analysis (OMA) method based on a data processing method for CSLDV measurements of a structure, called the lifting method, under white-noise excitation and applies a baseline-free method to identify structural damage using estimated mode shapes from the OMA method. The lifting method enables transformation of raw CSLDV measurements into measurements at individual virtual measurement points, as if the latter were made by use of an ordinary scanning laser Doppler vibrometer in a step-wise manner. It is shown that a correlation function with nonnegative time delays between lifted CSLDV measurements at two virtual measurement points on a structure under white-noise excitation and its power spectrum contain modal parameters of the structure, that is, natural frequencies, modal damping ratios, and mode shapes. The modal parameters can be estimated by using a standard OMA algorithm. A major advantage of the proposed OMA method is that curvature mode shapes associated with mode shapes estimated by the method can reflect local anomaly caused by small-sized structural damage, while those estimated by other existing OMA methods that use CSLDV measurements cannot. Numerical and experimental investigations are conducted to study the OMA method and baseline-free structural damage identification method. In the experimental investigation, effects of the scan frequency of a CSLDV system on the two methods were studied. It is shown in both the numerical and experimental investigations that modal parameters can be accurately estimated by the OMA method and structural damage can be successfully identified in neighborhoods with consistently high values of curvature damage indices.

Diagnostics based on continuous scanning LDV methods: numerical study

This paper presents a research work on diagnostics using continuous scanning laser methods. Structural Health Monitoring based on laser vibrometry can exploit the ability of a scanning laser to measure vibration responses remotely both regarding temporal and spatial resolution. Therefore, it can be a powerful approach for rapid damage detection of components presenting an unhealthy dynamic behaviour. The work is focused on numerical analysis of a cantilever beam which is subjected to damage of different severity levels. The severity will be measured regarding response phase shift for a fixed excitation frequency. The simulated nodal responses of the surface being scanned by a laser beam are selected and used for simulating the spectral responses obtained from CSLDV methods. The main objective of this work is to determine the structural integrity based on an indicator obtained by referencing the relative spectral sidebands between a pristine and damage condition.

Mode matching of Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibration data in the frequency domain

Applications as structural diagnostics, condition monitoring and fatigue testing are requiring the development of vibration tests characterized by reduced testing time, fine spatial resolution and high Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). In this context, Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (CSLDV) can have a great impact as a substitute of classic Discrete Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (SLDV). In fact, CSLDV makes it possible to measure the target structural vibration much faster and with finer spatial resolution than SLDV, as well keeping an acceptable level of SNR. CSLDV joins together the spatial and time information, because the vibration datum obtained from the laser, which continuously scans (over time and space) the structure under test, is modulated by the Operational Deflection Shape (ODS) excited during the experiment. This results in a spectrum characterized by sideband patterns uniquely associated to the ODS excited. However, the current drawback in fully exploiting CSLDV in everyday testing is related to the necessity of being managed by an expert operator who knows how to extract meaningful information from data measured. This paper proposes a procedure which aims to automatize the information extraction process from CSLDV signals, in order to ease the utilization of CSLDV in vibration laboratories. The idea starts from a simple observation: if the mode shapes of the structure under test are known a priori, e.g. from a numerical model, an analytical formulation or previous measurements, as is the case for fatigue tests, it is possible to settle a procedure that searches for similarities between those known mode shapes (the candidate mode shapes) and ODSs that actually modulate the signal measured. This procedure can therefore be considered a pattern matching technique that is able to identify the resonance frequency related to each ODS and the mode shapes that better match with the ODSs excited. A detailed description of the algorithm is given in this paper. Moreover, the procedure is analyzed in order to discuss its sensitivity to noise, overlapping of resonance frequencies (close modes situation) and ODS complexity. The application of the approach to experimental data is also discussed.

Identification of damage in plates using full-field measurement with a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system

An effective and reliable damage identification method for plates with a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is proposed. A new constant-speed scan algorithm is proposed to create a two-dimensional (2D) scan trajectory and automatically scan a whole plate surface. Full-field measurement of the plate can be achieved by applying the algorithm to the CSLDV system. Based on the new scan algorithm, the demodulation method is extended from one dimension for beams to two dimensions for plates to obtain a full-field operating deflection shape (ODS) of the plate from velocity response measured by the CSLDV system. The full-field ODS of an associated undamaged plate is obtained by using polynomials with proper orders to fit the corresponding full-field ODS from the demodulation method. A curvature damage index (CDI) using differences between curvatures of ODSs (CODSs) associated with ODSs that are obtained by the demodulation method and the polynomial fit is proposed to identify damage. An auxiliary CDI obtained by averaging CDIs at different excitation frequencies is defined to further assist damage identification. An experiment of an aluminum plate with damage in the form of 10.5% thickness reduction in a damage area of 0.86% of the whole scan area is conducted to investigate the proposed method. Six frequencies close to natural frequencies of the plate and one randomly selected frequency are used as sinusoidal excitation frequencies. Two 2D scan trajectories, i.e., a horizontally moving 2D scan trajectory and a vertically moving 2D scan trajectory, are used to obtain ODSs, CODSs, and CDIs of the plate. The damage is successfully identified near areas with consistently high values of CDIs at different excitation frequencies along the two 2D scan trajectories; the damage area is also identified by auxiliary CDIs.

Non-Model-Based Identification of Delamination in Laminated Composite Plates Using a Continuously Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer System

Delamination frequently occurs in a laminated composite structure and can cause prominent local anomalies in curvature vibration shapes associated with vibration shapes of the composite structure. Spatially dense vibration shapes of a structure can be rapidly obtained by use of a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system, which sweeps its laser spot over a vibrating surface of the structure. This paper introduces a continuous scanning scheme for general quadrangular scan areas assigned on plates and extends two damage identification methods for beams to identify delamination in laminated composite plates using a CSLDV system. One method is based on the technique that a curvature vibration shape from a polynomial that fits a vibration shape of a damaged structure can well approximate an associated curvature vibration shape of an undamaged structure and local anomalies caused by structural damage can be identified by comparing the curvature vibration shape of the damaged structure with that from the polynomial fit, and the other is based on the technique that a continuous wavelet transform can directly identify local anomalies in a curvature vibration shape caused by structural damage. The two methods yield corresponding damage indices and local anomalies in curvature vibration shapes can be identified in neighborhoods with high damage index values. Both numerical and experimental investigations on effectiveness of the two methods are conducted on a laminated composite plate with a delamination area. In the experimental investigation, delamination identification results from the two methods were compared with that from a C-scan image of the composite plate.

Non-model-based multiple damage identification of beams by a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system

An effective non-model-based multiple damage identification method for beams by using a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is presented. Velocity response of a beam along a scan line under sinusoidal excitation is measured by the CSLDV system and a spatially dense operating deflection shape (ODS) of the beam along the scan line is obtained by the demodulation method from velocity response. An ODS of an associated undamaged beam is obtained by using a polynomial with a proper order to fit the ODS from the demodulation method. The curvature of an ODS (CODS) is used to identify abnormality induced by multiple damage. A curvature damage index (CDI) using differences between CODSs associated with ODSs that are obtained by the demodulation method and the polynomial fit is proposed to identify multiple damage. A normalized average CDI obtained by averaging CDIs at different excitation frequencies is defined to further assist multiple damage identification. Experiments on three beams with three damage on each beam in the form of three small cuts are conducted. Widths and depths of the three damage are varied from 3mm to 9mm with an increment of 3mm and from 5% thickness reduction to 15% with an increment of 5%, respectively, and their effects on ODSs, CODSs, and CDIs are investigated. Five frequencies obtained by rounding the first through fifth natural frequencies of the beams and one arbitrarily selected frequency that is not close to any natural frequency of the beams are used as sinusoidal excitation frequencies. Each damage is successfully identified near regions with consistently high values of CDIs at different excitation frequencies. The three damage on each beam is successfully identified with the normalized average CDI by obvious peaks at locations of the three damage.

Experimental Investigation of Notch-Type Damage Identification with a Curvature-Based Method by Using a Continuously Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer System

This paper experimentally investigates a notch-type damage identification methodology for beams by using a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system. Velocity response of a beam along a scan line under sinusoidal excitation is measured by the CSLDV system and an operating deflection shape (ODS) of the beam is obtained by the demodulation method from velocity response. The ODS of an associated undamaged beam is obtained by using a polynomial with a proper order to fit the ODS from the demodulation method. The curvature of an ODS (CODS) can be calculated with a high quality due to a dense measurement grid of the ODS. A curvature damage index (CDI) is proposed to identify a notch with a length of 1 mm along a beam and a depth of 0.9 mm under different excitation frequencies. The CDI uses differences between CODSs associated with ODSs that are obtained by the demodulation method and the polynomial fit; an auxiliary CDI obtained by averaging CDIs at different excitation frequencies is defined to further assist identification of damage. An averaging technique is applied to velocity response of the beam to reduce measurement noise. Effects of the number of averages on ODSs, CODSs, and CDIs are investigated. Four scan lines with an equal length of 151 mm and different locations with respect to the notch are used to investigate reliability of the proposed methodology. Finally, a whole scan line with a length of 555 mm along the beam is applied and the notch is successfully identified near regions with consistently high values of CDIs at different excitation frequencies; it can also be identified with the auxiliary CDI by a prominent peak at the location of the notch.

Damage identification of beam structures using free response shapes obtained by use of a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system

Spatially dense operating deflection shapes and mode shapes can be rapidly obtained by use of a continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system, which sweeps its laser spot over a vibrating structure surface. This paper introduces a new type of vibration shapes called a free response shape (FRS) that can be obtained by use of a CSLDV system, and a new damage identification methodology using FRSs is developed for beam structures. An analytical expression of FRSs of a damped beam structure is derived, and FRSs from the analytical expression compare well with those from a finite element model. In the damage identification methodology, a free-response damage index (FRDI) is proposed, and damage regions can be identified near neighborhoods with consistently high values of FRDIs associated with different modes; an auxiliary FRDI is defined to assist identification of the neighborhoods. A FRDI associated with a mode consists of differences between curvatures of FRSs associated with the mode in a number of half-scan periods of a CSLDV system and those from polynomials that fit the FRSs with properly determined orders. A convergence index is proposed to determine the proper order of a polynomial fit. One advantage of the methodology is that the FRDI does not require any baseline information of an undamaged beam structure, if it is geometrically smooth and made of materials that have no stiffness and mass discontinuities. Another advantage is that FRDIs associated with multiple modes can be obtained using free response of a beam structure measured by a CSLDV system in one scan. The number of half-scan periods for calculation of the FRDI associated with a mode can be determined by use of the short-time Fourier transform. The proposed methodology was numerically and experimentally applied to identify damage in beam structures; effects of the scan frequency of a CSLDV system on qualities of obtained FRSs were experimentally investigated.

Delamination detection by Multi-Level Wavelet Processing of Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry data

A novel non-destructive testing procedure for delamination detection based on the exploitation of the simultaneous time and spatial sampling provided by Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (CSLDV) and the feature extraction capability of Multi-Level wavelet-based processing is presented in this paper. The processing procedure consists in a multi-step approach. Once the optimal mother-wavelet is selected as the one maximizing the Energy to Shannon Entropy Ratio criterion among the mother-wavelet space, a pruning operation aiming at identifying the best combination of nodes inside the full-binary tree given by Wavelet Packet Decomposition (WPD) is performed. The pruning algorithm exploits, in double step way, a measure of the randomness of the point pattern distribution on the damage map space with an analysis of the energy concentration of the wavelet coefficients on those nodes provided by the first pruning operation. A combination of the point pattern distributions provided by each node of the ensemble node set from the pruning algorithm allows for setting a Damage Reliability Index associated to the final damage map. The effectiveness of the whole approach is proven on both simulated and real test cases. A sensitivity analysis related to the influence of noise on the CSLDV signal provided to the algorithm is also discussed, showing that the processing developed is robust enough to measurement noise. The method is promising: damages are well identified on different materials and for different damage-structure varieties.

Damage Identification of Beams Using a Continuously Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer System

A continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is capable of rapidly obtaining spatially dense operating deflection shapes (ODSs) by continuously sweeping a laser spot from the system over a structure surface. This paper presents a new damage identification methodology for beams that uses their ODSs under sinusoidal excitation obtained by a CSLDV system, where baseline information of associated undamaged beams is not needed. A curvature damage index (CDI) is proposed to identify damage near a region with high values of the CDI at an excitation frequency. The CDI uses the difference between curvatures of ODSs (CODSs) associated with ODSs that are obtained by two different CSLDV measurement methods, i.e., demodulation and polynomial methods; the former provides rapid and spatially dense ODSs of beams, and the latter provides ODSs that can be considered as those of associated undamaged beams. Phase variables are introduced to the two methods for damage identification purposes. Effects of the order in the polynomial method on qualities of ODSs and CODSs are investigated. A convergence index and a criterion are proposed to determine a proper order in the polynomial method. Effects of scan and sampling frequencies of a CSLDV system on qualities of ODSs and CODSs from the two measurement methods are investigated. The proposed damage identification methodology was experimentally validated on a beam with damage in the form of machined thickness reduction. The damage and its region were successfully identified in neighborhoods of prominent peaks of CDIs at different excitation frequencies.

Exploiting Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry in timing belt dynamic characterisation

Dynamic behaviour of timing belts has always interested the engineering community over the years. Nowadays, there are several numerical methods to predict the dynamics of these systems. However, the tuning of such models by experimental approaches still represents an issue: an accurate characterisation does require a measurement in operating conditions since the belt mounting condition might severely affect its dynamic behaviour. Moreover, since the belt is constantly moving during running conditions, non-contact measurement methods are needed. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) and imaging techniques do represent valid candidates for this purpose.This paper aims at describing the use of Continuous Scanning LDV (CSLDV) as a tool for the dynamic characterisation of timing belts in IC (Internal Combustion) engines (cylinder head). The high-spatial resolution data that can be collected in short testing time makes CSLDV highly suitable for such application. The measurement on a moving surface, however, represents a challenge for CSLDV. The paper discusses how the belt in-plane speed influences CSLDV signal and how an order-based multi-harmonic excitation might affect the recovery of Operational Deflection Shapes in a CSLDV test. A comparison with a standard Discrete Scanning LDV measurement is also given in order to show that a CSLDV test, if well designed, can indeed provide the same amount of information in a drastically reduced amount of time.

Full-field linear and nonlinear measurements using Continuous-Scan Laser Doppler Vibrometry and high speed Three-Dimensional Digital Image Correlation

Spatially detailed dynamic measurements of thin, lightweight structures can be difficult to obtain due to the structure׳s low mass and complicated deformations under certain loading conditions. If traditional contacting sensors, such as accelerometers, strain gauges, displacement transducers, etc., are used, the total number of measurement locations available is limited by the weight added and the effect each sensor has on the local stiffness of the contact area. Other non-contacting sensors, such as Laser Doppler Vibrometers (LDV), laser triangulation sensors, proximity sensors, etc., do not affect the dynamics of a structure, but are limited to single point measurements. In contrast, a few recently developed non-contacting measurement techniques have been shown to be capable of simultaneously measuring the response over a wide measurement field. Two techniques are considered here: Continuous-Scan Laser Doppler Vibrometry (CSLDV) and high speed Three-Dimensional Digital Image Correlation (3D DIC). With the use of these techniques, unprecedented measurement resolution can be achieved. In this work, the linear and nonlinear deformations of a clamped, nominally flat beam and plate under steady state sinusoidal loading will be measured using both techniques. In order to assess their relative merits, the linear natural frequencies, mode shapes, and nonlinear deformation shapes measured with each method are compared. Both measurement systems give comparable results in many cases, although 3D DIC is more accurate for spatially complex deformations at large amplitudes and CSLDV is more accurate at low amplitudes and when the spatial deformation pattern is simpler.

Re-sampling of continuous scanning LDV data for ODS extraction

The paper presents a method for processing data obtained by Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (CSLDV) that makes it possible to measure vibrations combining spatial and temporal information. Since the laser continuously scans the structure under test over time and space, it measures a vibration signal modulated by the Operational Deflection Shape (ODS) of the structure. CSLDV time history can then be re–sampled at an arbitrary spatial resolution in order to recover the vibration data at several positions on the trajectory swept by the laser. The main drawback of such method is that the actual sampling rate of the re–sampled vibration signals is dictated by frequencies of the mirrors, which determine the laser scanning speed. The paper presents a method for the automatic recognition of ”aliased” natural frequencies and recovery of the actual un–aliased natural frequencies. Once those frequencies are determined, the corresponding ODSs are recovered.

Wavelet Processing of Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry data in Non-Destructive Testing

The present paper proposes a novel non-destructive testing procedure based on the exploitation of the simultaneous time and spatial sampling provided by Continuous Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (CSLDV) and the feature extraction capabilities of wavelet-based processing. Two criteria for selecting in an objective way the mother-wavelet to be used in the decomposition procedure, the Relative Wavelet Energy and Energy to Shannon Entropy Ratio, are compared in terms of capability of best locating the damage. The paper demonstrates the applicability of the procedure for the identification of superficial and in-depth defects in simulated and real test cases when an area scan is performed over the test sample. The method shows promising results, since defects are identified in different severity conditions.

Multi-frequency, 3D ODS measurement by continuous scan laser Doppler vibrometry

Continuous scan laser Doppler vibrometry (CSLDV) is a technique which has been described and explored in the literature for over two decades, but remains niche compared to SLDV inspection by a series of discrete-point measurements. This is in part because of the unavoidable phenomenon of laser speckle, which deteriorates signal quality when velocity data is captured from a moving spot measurement. Further, applicability of CSLDV has typically been limited to line scans and rectangular areas by the application of sine, step, or ramp functions to the scanning mirrors which control the location of the measurement laser spot. In this paper it is shown that arbitrary functions to scan any area can easily be derived from a basic calibration routine, equivalent to the calibration performed in conventional discrete-point laser vibrometry. This is extended by performing the same scan path upon a test surface from three independent locations of the laser head, and decomposing the three sets of one-dimensional deflection shapes into a single set of three-dimensional deflection shapes. The test was performed with multi-sine excitation, yielding 34 operating deflection shapes from each scan.

Exploiting continuous scanning laser Doppler vibrometry (CSLDV) in time domain correlation methods for noise source identification

This paper proposes the use of continuous scanning laser Doppler vibrometry (CSLDV) in time domain correlation techniques that aim at characterizing the structure-borne contributions of the noise emission of a mechanical system. The time domain correlation technique presented in this paper is based on the use of FIR (finite impulse response) filters obtained from the vibro-acoustic transfer matrix when vibration data are collected by laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) exploited in continuous scan mode (CSLDV). The advantages, especially in terms of source decorrelation capabilities, related to the use of CSLDV for such purpose, with respect to standard discrete scan (SLDV), are discussed throughout the paper. To validate this approach, vibro-acoustic measurements were performed on a planetary gear motor for home appliances. The analysis of results is also supported by a simulation.