Force Limited Vibration Testing (FLVT)
Cost:
Course dates
-
Oct 14 2026
2 days, 08:30 AM - 04:30 PM- $2,500.00 excl.
Summary
Hosted by Maverick Space Systems in San Luis Obispo, California The objectives of this course are to improve your understanding of force limiting as a method of avoiding excessive loading during a vibration test, including ... – Technical rationale – NASA’s semi-empirical method – Deriving force limits – Implementing force limiting principles without the use of force sensors, with response limiting and manual notching
Description
Before delving into force limiting, the course provides a
review of vibration mechanics and explains sine sweep
testing (both low- and high-level) and random vibration
testing. The detailed yet understandable coverage of force
limiting includes several examples. The course ends with
a computer workshop (bring your laptop!), in which the
class will use provided spreadsheets to design force
limited, response limited, and manually notched tests.
Class will be held in the building that houses Maverick’s
vibration test lab. The class will visit the lab multiple
times so that Maverick’s personnel can demonstrate
important topics covered in class. Demonstrations will
use a small satellite simulator (SatSim-125M), mounted
to a Motorized Lightband simulator, which in turn is
mounted on a force limiting fixture with piezoelectric
force sensors.
Instructor(s):
Tom Sarafin is President of Instar Engineering and Consulting, Inc. He has worked in the spaceindustry since 1979 as a structural engineer, a mechanical systems engineer, a project manager, and aconsultant. Since founding Instar in 1993, he’s consulted for NASA, DARPA, the DOD Space TestProgram, Lockheed Martin, DigitalGlobe (Vantor), Sierra Nevada Corp (Sierra Space), and many
other organizations. He is the editor and principal author of Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms:From Concept to Launch and is a contributing author to Space Mission Analysis and Design. Since1995, he has taught well over 300 courses to more than 6000 engineers and managers in the
aerospace industry. His other courses include Space Mission Structures, from Concept to Launch(SCS), Design and Analysis of Bolted Joints (DABJ), Structural Design and Analysis for Aerospace Engineers (SDA), Structural Test Design and Interpretation (STDI), and Vibration Testing of Small Satellites (VTSS).
Scheduling:
REGISTRATION: There is no obligation or payment required to enter the Registration for an actively scheduled course. We understand that you may need approvals but please register as early as possible or contact us so we know of your interest in this course offering.
SCHEDULING: If this course is not on the current schedule of open enrollment courses and you are interested in attending this or another course as an open enrollment, please contact us at (410)956-8805 or ati@aticourses.com. Please indicate the course name, number of students who wish to participate. and a preferred time frame. ATI typically schedules open enrollment courses with a 3-5 month lead-time. To express your interest in an open enrollment course not on our current schedule, please email us at ati@aticourses.com.
For on-site pricing, you can use the request an on-site quote form, call us at (410)956-8805, or email us at ati@aticourses.com.
