An Experimental Investigation on Uncertainty in Measuring Vibration Deflection Shapes with Digital Image Correlation

3-D digital image correlation (DIC) is a widespread full-field displacement measurement technique based on stereo vision. It was formulated to deal with static problems in experimental mechanics in the early seventies, and since then, the applicability of the technique increased due to increasing frame rates and dropping prices of machine vision cameras. As a consequence, DIC became a feasible solution for general-purpose vibration testing. This paper, however, does not offer a comprehensive analysis of DIC accuracy when applied to vibration testing, and therefore, this paper offers a "Type A" evaluation of uncertainty when measuring vibration deflection shapes with DIC. Uncertainty is evaluated for different experimental conditions on a stepped sine test. Data show that the average value of uncertainty normally lies below 0.02 mm, but in resonant conditions, it can increase up to 0.05 mm (considering a field of view of about half a meter). This demonstrates a strong correlation between the deflection amplitude and the random uncertainty due to motion blur.