The objective of the work is experimental validation and optimal experimental design for structural response reconstruction. A modal-based Kalman filter approach based on excitation identification Kalman filter is proposed for response reconstruction and excitation estimation of structures by using noisy acceleration and strain measurements. Firstly, different filters are introduced and discussed. Secondly, to avoid single type sensors, a displacement reconstruction based on modal method is introduced into the proposed approach. Thirdly, the backward sequential algorithm is given to obtain the optimal sensor locations. It is shown that the proposed method can avoid the divergency in the estimated process of excitation and displacements as a result of incomplete measurements. Reasonable estimates of strains, displacements, velocities, accelerations, and excitations of structures can be accomplished with few acceleration sensors and strain gauges.
