This paper discusses the characteristics of time-frequency estimators to be used in theidentification of systems with localized non-linearities. The common idea underlying thisresearch is that, for certain classes of structural response signals, the availability ofa limited number of experimental data can be partially obviated by taking into account the“localisation” in time of the frequency components of the signals. Time-frequencytechniques for structural identification are reported that extend the definition ofinstantaneous time-frequency estimators and Gabor instantaneous estimators were extractedfrom non-stationary vibration signals. In order to foresee their validity on the basis ofmeasured data, methods were applied to seismic responses obtained from numerical testsconducted on steel frames. The results obtained made it possible to evaluate thecharacteristics of time-frequency identification techniques as well as their efficiencywhen applied to non-linear structures.
