Abstract
The problem of determining the masses of a mass-spring system is an inverse multiplicative eigenvalue problem. Generally, the solutions of this problem are not yet fully characterised. Since all known methods of solution follow an iterative approach, the possibility of developing a closed-form algorithm is examined. Although such method is found for the two and three degree-of-freedom systems, it appears to be impractical for higher order systems. Two well known existing algorithms are then examined numerically. Both converge locally at a quadratic rate. However, for practical applications, a globally converging algorithm may be more effective. In this paper a new, linearly converging algorithm is advised. The three methods are then tested on some selected numerical examples, and their performances compared.
