MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS

Dr. Salman Ahmad

Mechanical Vibrations

Books
• Daniel J Inman, “Engineering Vibration” 4th Edition, Pearson
Education, Inc. (2014)
• Mechanical Vibrations S.S Rao, Addison-Wesley, 5th Edition

Reference Books:
• Theory of Vibrations with Applications, 5th Edition, By Thomson and
Dahleh, Prentice Hall, 1997
Mechanical Vibrations
x  PR  A sin t
dx 
x   A cos t  A sin(t  )
dt 2
2
d x
x  2   2 A sin(t   )
dt
• Thus, the velocity and acceleration are also harmonic with the same frequency of oscillation but
lead the displacement by π/2 and π radians, respectively.
• It can be seen that the acceleration is directly proportional to the displacement. Such a vibration,
with the acceleration proportional to the displacement and directed toward the mean position, is
known as simple harmonic motion
Vibration analysis procedure

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 UNDAMPED FREE VIBRATION
A simple undamped spring-mass system, which is assumed to move only
along the vertical direction is shown in the Figure.
It has one degree of freedom (DOF), because its motion is described by a
single coordinate x.
When placed into motion, oscillation will take place at the natural frequency,
which is a property of the system.
As shown in Figure the deformation of the spring in the static equilibrium
position is Δ.
From the free-body diagram, it can be observed that the spring force kΔ is
equal to the gravitational force w acting on mass m:

( )  Fy  0
k  w
 k  w  0 k  mg
 By measuring the displacement x from the static equilibrium position, the force acting on m are k(Δ + x) and w. With x
chosen to be positive in the downward direction, all quantities – force, velocity and acceleration – are also positive in the
downward direction.
We now apply Newton’s second law of motion to the mass m:

 F  ma

 F  mx

 w  k (  x)  mx
 w  k  kx  mx
and because kΔ = w, we obtain

mx  kx
It is evident that the choice of the static equilibrium position as reference for x has eliminated w, the force due to gravity, and the
static force kΔ from the equation of motion, and the resultant force on m is simply the spring force due to the displacement x.
mx  kx mx  kx  0
k
x  x  0
m
Rearranging the terms into a “standard form” gives

x  n2 x  0
The constant ωn, generally reported in rad/s, is called the natural frequency, and in this case

k k
   n 
2
n
m m

When a body is given an initial displacement from its equilibrium position and released, it
will vibrate with the natural frequency, ωn .
 Combination of Springs

To derive an expression for the equivalent spring constant of springs connected in parallel, consider
the two springs shown in Figure – (a).
When a load W is applied, the system undergoes a static deflection δ as shown in Figure - (b).
The free-body diagram is shown in Figure - (c),

11
Then the free-body diagram, shown in Figure - (c), gives the equilibrium equation

( )  Fy  0

k1  k 2  W  0

W  k1  k 2

W  (k1  k 2 )

W  keq

keq  Equivalent spring constant  k1  k 2

In general, if we have n springs with spring constants k 1, k2,……kn in parallel, then the equivalent spring

constant keq can be obtained:

keq  Equivalent spring constant  k1  k 2  .........k n

Next, we derive an expression for the equivalent spring
constant of springs connected in series by considering the
two springs shown in Fig. (a).
Under the action of a load W, springs 1 and 2 undergo
elongations δ1 and δ2 respectively, as shown in Fig. (b).

The total elongation (or static deflection) of the system, is

  1   2
given by

Since both springs are subjected to the same force W, we

have the equilibrium shown in Fig. (c):

W  k11

W  k 2 2
If keq denotes the equivalent spring constant, then for the

same static deflection,

W  keq
 The total elongation (or static deflection) of the
system, is given by

  1   2
Substituting these values of δ 1 and δ2 into the

above Equation, we obtain

W
W W W W  k11  1 
k1
 
keq k1 k 2 W  k 2 2   2 
W
k2
W
W  k eq   
W 1 1 keq
W(  )
keq k1 k 2

1 1 1
 
keq k1 k 2

The above equation can be generalized to the

case of n springs in series:

1 1 1 1
   .........
keq k1 k 2 keq
Example:
Solution:

The first step is to replace the parallel combination on the left side of the block by springs of equivalent
stiffness.

The spring on the left of the block are in series with one another and are replaced by a spring of equivalent
stiffness. The springs attached to the right of the block are also in series and are replaced by a spring of
equivalent stiffness.

When the block has an arbitrary displacement x, the displacement in each of the springs of the above figure are
the same, and the total force acting on the block is the sum of the forces developed in the springs. Thus, the
springs behave as if they are in parallel and can be replaced by a spring of equivalent stiffness as shown in the
figure below.
Equation of Motion for torsional system
Energy method
Mass Spring System:

PE  KE  contant k

U  T  contant
m

d
U  T   0
dt

18
Energy method
PE  Strain energy
1
 kx 2 k
2
1 m
KE  mx 2

2 x

d
U  T   0
dt
d 1 1 2 
 kx  mx   0
2

dt  2 2  19
Energy method

d 1 1 2 
 kx  mx   0
2
k
dt  2 2 
m
kxx  mx x  0
x

x kx  mx   0

mx  kx  0
20
Modeling
Newton’s law

I  T
I   kt

I  kt  0
kt
Equation of Motion for torsional system n 
I
21
Energy method
PE  Strain energy
1
 kt 2
2
1 2
KE  I
2
d
U  T   0
dt
d 1 1 2 
 kt  I   0
2

dt  2 2  22
Energy method
d 1 1 2 
 kt  I   0
2

dt  2 2 

kt  I  0

 kt  I   0

I  kt  0

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 Example:

To satisfy the requirement of rigidity , we apply the torque-twist relationship

T GJ
  kt (Torsional stiffness)
 L
Solution:
Spring constant of a suspension system