ME3112 VIBRATION MEASUREMENT

SEMESTER 5
SESSION 2013/2014

TAN ZI HAO
A0086885H
GROUP 3O1
4 September 2013

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Aims & Objectives

The aims of this experiment are:
-

To introduce students to the use of certain measuring equipment commonly found in the
applied mechanics laboratories.
To use a cantilever beam as an object to illustrate the use of these equipments which include
strainmeter, accelerometer, shaker and real time analyzer.

The objectives of this experiment are:

-

To familiarize with the techniques in measuring dynamic quantities.

To determine the resonance frequencies and the corresponding mode-shapes of a vibrating
beam with several different techniques.

Experimental Results and Sample Calculations

Table 1:
CRO Frequency
(Hz)

Mode

Node Position
Theoretical (m)

Node Position
Experimental (m)

% Experimental
Error

Stroboscope
Frequency
(Hz)

4.53

0.398

0.371

6.78

26.87

26.85

28.41

0.240

0.235

2.08
75.97

75.40

79.55

0.430

0.413

3.95

0.170

0.170

0.306

0.305

0.33

151.63

151.50

155.89

0.440

0.431

2.05

257.66

Theoretical
Frequency (Hz)

Sample Calculations
Using mode 2 as an illustration,
E = 220GPa
L = 0.475m
b = 0.03m
t = 1.2 10-3 m
= 7903 kg/m3
I=
(

= 4.32 10-12 m4
m = bt
(

= 0.284508 kg/m
= 0.2845 kg/m (4 sig. fig.)
2 = 4.694
(

)( )
(

) (

)(

= 28.4069 Hz
= 28.41 Hz (4 sig. fig.)

The mode shape is given by:

(

Where a1 = 0.734
ai

1.00

for i 1

))

Using mode 2 as an illustration,

When x = 0.024m,
(

)
(

(
(

)
)

))

= 0.0518 m

Table 2:

0.00

Mode 1
0.000

Mode 2
0.000

Y
Mode 3
0.000

0.05

0.009

0.052

0.137

0.252

0.389

0.048

0.10

0.034

0.190

0.464

0.782

1.088

0.071

0.15

0.073

0.377

0.845

1.263

1.494

0.095

0.20

0.128

0.607

1.208

1.508

1.319

0.119

0.25

0.195

0.847

1.449

1.367

0.561

0.143

0.30

0.275

1.074

1.508

0.854

-0.443

0.166

0.35

0.361

1.261

1.373

0.140

-1.193

0.19

0.40

0.460

1.408

1.043

-0.630

-1.393

0.214

0.45

0.567

1.494

0.564

-1.203

-0.909

0.238

0.50

0.681

1.509

0.007

-1.410

0.022

0.261

0.55

0.797

1.455

-0.523

-1.208

0.911

0.285

0.60

0.922

1.327

-0.992

-0.640

1.397

0.309

0.65

1.052

1.131

-1.303

0.120

1.201

0.333

0.70

1.185

0.878

-1.410

0.845

0.417

0.356

0.75

1.314

0.592

-1.306

1.304

-0.531

0.38

0.80

1.451

0.265

-0.997

1.397

-1.260

0.404

0.85

1.589

-0.074

-0.533

1.070

-1.373

0.428

0.90

1.728

-0.407

0.014

0.421

-0.814

0.451

0.95

1.861

-0.703

0.538

-0.323

0.100

0.475

2.000

-0.972

1.001

-1.000

1.000

x (m)

x/L

0
0.024

Mode 4
0.000

Mode 5
0.000

To determine the theoretical nodes position:

Vibration Amplitude Y (m)

Y against x/L (mode 2)

2.0000
1.5000
1.0000
0.5000
0.0000
-0.5000

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

-1.0000
-1.5000

Distance of point mass from origin of vibration x (m)

From the graph, position of node is at x = 0.398m

Vibration Amplitude Y (m)

Y against x/L (mode 3)

2.0000
1.5000
1.0000
0.5000
0.0000
-0.5000 0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

-1.0000
-1.5000
-2.0000

Distance of point mass from origin of vibration x (m)

From the graph, position of nodes are at x = 0.240m and x = 0.430m

0.5

Vibration Amplitude Y (m)

Y against x/L (mode 4)

2.0000
1.5000
1.0000
0.5000
0.0000
-0.5000 0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

-1.0000
-1.5000
-2.0000

Distance of point mass from origin of vibration x (m)

From the graph, position of nodes are at x = 0.170m, x = 0.306m and x = 0.440m

Y against x/L
2.5

Vibration Amplitude Y (m)

2
1.5
1

Mode 1

0.5

Mode 2

Mode 3

-0.5

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Mode 4
Mode 5

-1
-1.5
-2

Distance of point mass from origin of vibration x (m)

Discussion
a) What is resonance?
Resonance is the tendency of the system to oscillate at larger amplitude at some frequencies than at
others. The response amplitude is a relative maximum at the systems resonant frequencies. Since the
system stores vibrational energy, small periodic driving forces at these resonant frequencies are able

to produce large amplitude oscillations. Damping results in losses of energy from one cycle to the
next. With small damping effect, the resonant frequency is approximately equal to the natural
frequency of the system. Resonance phenomena occur in all types of vibrations and waves. For any
materials, there is infinite number of natural frequencies but in our experiment, we only measured 3
natural frequencies.

b) Under what condition that the resonance will happen?

Resonance occurs when a system is able to store and easily transfer energy between two or more different
storage modes (such as potential and kinetic energy in the case of a pendulum). Resonance occurs when the
frequency of the driving force matches the natural frequency of the system. Under this condition, the driving
force and the oscillation are in phase and the driving force will impart energy to the system continuously in the
form of kinetic energy manifested in the maximum amplitude of the oscillation.
c) Significance of resonance frequency in real life.
In the design of building structure, it is important that the natural frequency of the building does not match the
frequency of the forced vibration due to either natural causes like wind or human causes like people walking
on or in the building. This is because if the two frequencies match, resonance will occur and violent swaying
motions (oscillations) and even catastrophic failure will occur. Hence it is important to ensure that the two
frequencies do not match, so that resonance will not occur.
It is also important to add dampers into the structure to reduce the amplitude of the vibration should the
frequency of forced vibration matches the natural frequency of the structure. As a countermeasure, these shock
mounts can be installed to absorb resonant frequencies and thus dissipate the absorbed energy.
In the case of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the failure of the bridge occurred when a neverbefore-seen twisting mode occurred, due to winds at a mild 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). This is a socalled torsional vibration mode, whereby when the left side of the roadway went down, the right side
would rise, and vice versa, with the center line of the road remaining still. Specifically, it was the
"second" torsional mode, in which the midpoint of the bridge remained motionless while the two
halves of the bridge twisted in opposite directions. Fluttering is a physical phenomenon in which
several degrees of freedom of a structure become coupled in an unstable oscillation driven by the
wind. This movement introduces energy to the bridge during each cycle so that it neutralizes the
natural damping of the structure. The composed system, which includes the bridge and fluid, therefore
behaves as if it has an effective negative damping (or had positive feedback), causing response to
increase exponentially. The oscillations increase in amplitude with each cycle because the wind
introduce more energy than the flexing of the structure can dissipate, and finally drives the bridge
toward failure due to excessive deflection and stress. The wind speed that causes the beginning of the
fluttering phenomenon (when the effective damping becomes zero) is called the flutter velocity.
Fluttering occurs even in low-velocity winds with steady flow. Hence, bridge design must ensure that
flutter velocity will be higher than the maximum mean wind speed present at the site. Eventually, the
amplitude of the motion produced by the fluttering increased beyond the strength of vital parts such as
the suspender cables. When a cable failed, the weight of the deck was transferred to the adjacent
cables that broke in turn until almost all of the central deck fell into the water below the span.
Resonance can also be useful in some cases. For example, microwave oven employs the knowledge of
resonance frequency to cook food. When the frequency of the microwave matches the natural

frequency of vibrations of atoms of fats, water and sugar, these atoms will vibrate with maximum
amplitude and maximum amount of energy is transferred to food to cook it.
Resonance also occurs in the basilar membrane in the cochlea of the ear. This enables people to
distinguish different frequencies or tones in the sounds they hear.
d) What is mode shape?
Mode shape describes the expected curvature or displacement of a surface vibrating at a particular mode.
Mode shape is usually sinusoidal and is dependent on the shape as well as the boundary conditions of the
surface. From the mode shape, we can find position of nodes. A node is a point where the amplitude of
vibration is zero. An anti-node is the opposite of a node, where the amplitude of vibration is a maximum. As
the number of nodes increase, the node positions become more compact since the distance between nodes are
shorter and the mode shape will include more sinusoidal waves within the fixed boundaries, where half a
sinusoidal wave is added for each increase in the number of nodes. A mode of vibration is characterized by a
modal frequency and a mode shape, and is numbered according to the number of half waves in the vibration.
Each mode is independent of all other modes. Thus all modes have different frequencies and different mode
shapes. Lower modes will have lower frequencies and greater amplitude. Since the lower modes vibrate with
greater amplitude, they cause the most displacement and stress in a structure. Thus they are called fundamental
modes.
e) Significance of mode shape in real life.
The study of mode shape is significant in real life because it allows us to determine the locations of nodes and
antinodes. This will assist engineers to make important design decision. For example, the locations of the
antinodes can be identified and shock absorbers can be installed at these locations to damp any oscillation.
This will reduce the amplitude of vibration and hence minimize of chances of any structure failure. Another
example where the knowledge of mode shape can be applied is to determine where to put vibration-sensitive
machineries. Any vibration will affect the operation of these machineries (e.g. wear and tear of gears) and
hence they should be placed at the locations of the nodes. Mode shape allows us to determine the positions of
the nodes.
f) Discussion of experimental results.
From the graph, we can observe that there is only one node for mode 2, two nodes for mode 3, three nodes for
mode 4 and four nodes for mode 5. It is also observed that at higher mode, the pitch of the sound becomes
higher.
In the experiment, mode 1 and mode 5 are not carried out. This is because at mode 1, the system will vibrate
with large amplitude and will damage the beam. Therefore, it is dangerous to carry out mode 1 in the
experiment. Mode 5 is not carried out in the experiment because it will be very difficult for us to see the
vibrations. As the mode gets higher, greater amount of energy is required to cause the vibration and more
energy will also be lost. Hence, the system will experience greater extent of damping and the amplitude of
vibration will decrease.
It can be seen that the CRO and stroboscope frequencies are always lower than the theoretical
frequency. This is because the transducer which is placed at the end of the ruler increases the mass of
the system. This will increase the damping of the system. From the formula

) ( ) , this

increase in mass will cause the experimental natural frequency to be lower than the theoretical natural
frequency.

g) List down at least four reasons for the experimental errors.

A slight deviation of the experimental results from the calculated theoretical results is observed. This may be
due to the following reasons:
- The beam used in the experiment might not be homogenous. Youngs modulus and density might not
be constant throughout the length of the beam.
- The measurements made using the stroboscope are based on the users perception of the vibration of
the ruler. The optical effect may not have completely stopped moving and hence this introduces
inaccuracies to the measurement.
- The positions of the nodes are measured by inspections. There may be parallax error and hence giving
an inaccurate result.
- Inaccuracies may be introduced to the measurements made by the CRO due to the noise generated in
the surrounding.
- There might be deformation in the beam after repetitive usage. This may affect the natural frequency.
- The damping effects, such as clamping of the beam, may introduce error to the experimental results
and hence they should be accounted for.
- The transducers mass may affect the natural frequency of the system and hence affect the accuracy of
our experimental results.
Conclusion
Through this experiment, I have learnt to use the piezoelectric sensor and stroboscope to measure the natural
frequency of the system. I have identified the significance of natural frequency which can be useful or
destructive. When the frequency of the driving force matches the natural frequency of the system, resonance
occurs and the system oscillates with maximum amplitude, causing high stress and strain in the beam. Hence,
it is important for engineers to increase the resonance frequency of the design to reduce the probability of
resonance occurring. This can be done by increasing the Youngs modulus or by decreasing the mass per unit
length.