P1: TIX/XYZ P2: ABC

appa JWST035-Brandt November 30, 2010 8:36 Printer Name: Yet to Come

Appendix A
Complex Numbers

Complex numbers are frequently used in signal analysis. A complex number, c is defined as

c = a + jb (A.1)

where the real numbers a and b are called the real part and imaginary part, respectively, of c. The number
j, the imaginary number, also sometimes denoted i, is equal to the square root of 1. Of course, this does
not (at least immediately) provide any insight into the use of complex numbers, so we shall here show
some fundamental use of complex numbers.
First we define the complex conjugate, c , of c, by

c = a jb. (A.2)

A useful picture of complex numbers is obtained if we plot the real and imaginary parts of c as x and
y coordinates, respectively, in a coordinate system as in Figure A.1. Complex numbers represented by
Equation (A.1) is often called rectangular form, or the Euclidian form.
From Figure A.1 it directly follows that the complex number, c, may be written using trigonometric
functions, as

c = A[cos + j sin ] (A.3)

from which it follows that

A= a 2 + b2 (A.4)

and
 
b
= arctan . (A.5)
a

The expression of the complex number, c, in Equation (A.3) is often called the trigonometric form.
The factor A, is also the square root of the amplitude squared of the complex number, c, which is
obtained by

|c|2 = cc = (a + jb)(a jb) = a 2 + b2 . (A.6)

Noise and Vibration Analysis: Signal Analysis and Experimental Procedures Anders Brandt
2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-470-74644-8
P1: TIX/XYZ P2: ABC
appa JWST035-Brandt November 30, 2010 8:36 Printer Name: Yet to Come

404 Noise and Vibration Analysis

Im[c]

b c
A

Re[c]
a

Figure A.1 The complex plane

There is a third common notation for expressing c; the Euler form or polar form. Here, c is written as
in Equation (A.7), which can readily be seen as a special notation.

c = Aej (A.7)

where A and are equal to those in Equation (A.3).

The polar form also has a simplified notation commonly used in, for example, electrical engineering.
Here, c is written as

c = A (A.8)

where the symbol  is read angle.

When we use complex numbers in signal analysis, there are mainly two operations of interest. The first
is a summation of two complex numbers, say c1 = a1 + jb1 and c2 = a2 + jb2 . An example of this case is
when we have two sound waves with a certain common frequency, and the two sounds are added together
at a certain point. Since the sound information contains both amplitude and phase, it becomes a complex
addition, see also below where we describe how complex numbers are used to describe sinusoids. With
the addition of two complex numbers, the rectangular form is most suitable and the sum, c, of the two
numbers is

c = c1 + c2 = (a1 + a2 ) + j (b1 + b2 ) (A.9)

that is, the real and imaginary parts are summed separately. This is equivalent to vector addition.
The other important operation is multiplication of two complex numbers. An example of this is if
we let a sinusoidal force excite a structure for which we know the frequency response between force
and response at a certain point. The response at this point may be obtained by multiplying the complex
sinusoid by the (complex) value of the frequency response at the frequency of the sinusoid. When we
multiply two complex numbers, we prefer to use the polar form of Equation (A.7) and the product
then becomes

c = c1 c2 = A1 A2 ej(1 +2 ) (A.10)

that is, with multiplication, the amplitudes are multiplied and the phase angles are summed.
The most important reason for using complex numbers in signal analysis (noise and vibration analysis)
is that when we have sinusoids, it is quite effective to replace them with their complex analogs. Assume
P1: TIX/XYZ P2: ABC
appa JWST035-Brandt November 30, 2010 8:36 Printer Name: Yet to Come

Appendix A: Complex Numbers 405

first that we have a real, time-dependent signal, x(t), e.g., a measured acceleration signal of a certain
frequency
x(t) = A cos(t) (A.11)
A complex sinusoid is now defined as
= Aej(t+) = Cet
x(t) (A.12)
where
C = Aej (A.13)
Using this notation, our actual (original) signal can be written as
x(t) = Re [x(t)].
(A.14)
, we are able to easily change both the amplitude and phase
By introducing the complex signal, x(t)
of our signal, for example, passing through a frequency response. The resulting signal is then obtained
by taking the real part of the calculated complex signal. We achieve the same result as if we had used
the real signal the whole time, but without the complicated trigonometric rules. The imaginary part of
the complex signal sometimes also has interpretations which we shall not delve into here, but basically
we can say that it simply follows along as a complement to the calculations.

Example A.0.1 As an example of using complex numbers, assume that we have a sinusoidal force
with amplitude 30 N and frequency 100 Hz. The force passes through an SDOF system with a natural
frequency of 100 Hz, where we let the frequency response of accelerance type be 0.1 /2 [(m/s2)/N].
We let the phase of our force be the reference, that is, 0 radians. What is the resulting acceleration? Our
force signal, F(t), can be written in complex form as
F(t) = Cej2 f0 t (A.15)
where C = 10ej0 = 10 [N], and f 0 = 100 [Hz]. Furthermore, the frequency response at 100 Hz is
H (100) = 0.1ej/2 . (A.16)
We thus obtain from Equation (A.10) that the resulting acceleration is
a(t) = F(t)H (100) = 10 0.1ej(2 f0 t+0+/2 = ej(2 f0 t+/2 (A.17)
or, if we write the actual, real acceleration, that is, the real part of Equation (A.17), then
a(t) = cos(2 f 0 t + /2) (A.18)
End of example.