Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 12 (12): 1678-1682, 2012

ISSN 1990-9233
IDOSI Publications, 2012
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2012.12.12.50

Analysis of Critical Speed of Shaft Using C and MATLAB

N. Lenin Rakesh, A. Thirugnanam and Mike Vaultine
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Bharath Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box: 600073 Chennai, India
Abstract: The project deals with the analysis of critical speed of shafts using C and MATLAB. All the given
shaft parameters such as load conditions, length, diameter, etc. will be determined for the given problem and
analytical solution of critical speed of shaft will be obtained. The material constants like youngs modulus and
load distribution over the given elements will be applied while calculating critical speed using C and MATLAB.
The theory related to the title will be studied from Shigleys Mechanical Engineering Design Ninth edition.
Analytical solution has to be obtained. To obtain computer solution C and MATLAB will be used. And a
comparison of results obtained from analytical calculation and using C and MATLAB will be presented.
Key words: CPL

BCPL

VSM

INTRODUCTION
In solid mechanics, in the field of rotordynamics, the
critical speed is the theoretical angular velocity which
excites the natural frequency of a rotating object, such as
a shaft, propeller, leadscrew, or gear. As the speed of
rotation approaches the object's natural frequency, the
object begins to resonate which dramatically flow within
organisations. VSM captures and presents the whole
process from end to end in a method that is easy to
understand and apply. It captures the current issues and
presents a realistic picture. Carrying out a VSM exercise
encourages a team approach and, through the capture of
performance increases systemic vibration. The resulting
resonance occurs regardless of orientation.
When the rotational speed is equal to the numerical
value of the natural vibration then that speed is called
critical speed.
C Programming Language: Identify C (pronounced as
"see", like the letter C) is a general-purpose computer
programming language developed between 1969 and
1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories
for use with the Unix operating system.
Although C was designed for implementing system
software, it is also widely used for developing portable
application software. C is one of the most widely used

programming languages of all time. C has greatly

influenced many other popular programming languages,
most notably C++, which began as an extension to C.
History of C: C is one of the most popular programming
Language, it was developed by Dennis Ritchie at AT &
Ts Bell laboratories at USA in 1972. It is an upgraded
version of two earlier languages, called BPCL and B,
which were also developed by Bell laboratories.
The root map for all modern computers languages are
started through the ALGOL language, in early 1960s after
then COBOL was being used for commercial applications,
FORTRAN was being developed for scientific
applications. At this stage, people started thinking about
the single language which can program all possible
applications. A committee was formed to develop a new
language called Combined programming Language (CPL)
at Cambridge University. Along with CPL another
language called BCPL was developed with some
additional features of CPL.
At the same time another language called B was
being developed by Ken Thompson AT & Ts Bell labs.
But like BPCL and B turned out to be very specific.
Dennis Ritchie developed a language with some
additional features of BPCL and B which is very simple,
relatively good programming efficiency and a
relatively good machine efficiency called C language,

Corresponding Author: N. Lenin Rakesh, Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bharath Institute of Science & Technology P.O. 600073 Chennai, India.

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Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 12 (12): 1678-1682, 2012

consequently the ANSI (American National Standards

Institute) began to work on a standardised definition of
the C Language that makes it powerful.

Although MATLAB is intended primarily for

numerical computing, an optional toolbox uses the
MuPAD symbolic engine, allowing access to symbolic
computing capabilities. An additional package, Simulink,
adds graphical multi-domain simulation and Model-Based
Design for dynamic and embedded systems.
In 2004, MATLAB had around one million users
across industry and academia. MATLAB users come from
various backgrounds of engineering, science and
economics. MATLAB is widely used in academic and
research institutions as well as industrial enterprises.

Design: C is an imperative (procedural) systems

implementation language. It was designed to be compiled
using a relatively straightforward compiler, to provide
low-level access to memory, to provide language
constructs that map efficiently to machine instructions
and to require minimal run-time support. C was therefore
useful for many applications that had formerly been coded
in assembly language.
Despite its low-level capabilities, the language was
designed to encourage cross-platform programming. A
standards-compliant and portably written C program can
be compiled for a very wide variety of computer platforms
and operating systems with few changes to its source
code. The language has become available on a very wide
range of platforms, from embedded microcontrollers to
supercomputers.

History: Cleve Moler, the chairman of the computerscience department at the University of New Mexico,
started developing MATLAB in the late 1970s. He
designed it to give his students access to.
LINPACK and EISPACK without them having to
learn Fortran. It soon spread to other universities and
found a strong audience within the applied mathematics
community. Jack Little, an engineer, was exposed to it
during a visit Moler made to Stanford University in 1983.
Recognizing its commercial potential, he joined with Moler
and Steve Bangert. They rewrote MATLAB in C and
founded MathWorks in 1984 to continue its development.
These rewritten libraries were known as JACKPAC. In
2000, MATLAB was rewritten to use a newer set of
libraries for matrix manipulation, LAPACK.
MATLAB was first adopted by researchers and
practitioners in control engineering, Little's specialty, but
quickly spread to many other domains. It is now also used
in education, in particular the teaching of linear algebra
and numerical analysis and is popular amongst scientists
involved in image processing.

Example of C:
#include <iostream.h>
#include<stdio.h>
Void main()
{
int a,b,c;
float avg;
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &a);
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &b);
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &c);
avg=(a+b+c)/3;
printf ("The average of the three number is: \n %f,avg);
getch();
}
Matlab Programming Language: MATLAB (matrix
laboratory) is a numerical computing environment and
fourth-generation programming language. Developed by
MathWorks, MATLAB allows matrix manipulations,
plotting of functions and data, implementation of
algorithms, creation of user interfaces and interfacing with
programs written in other languages, including C, C++,
Java and Fortran.s

Syntax: The MATLAB application is built around the

MATLAB language and most use of MATLAB involves
typing MATLAB code into the Command Window (as an
interactive mathematical shell), or executing text files
containing MATLAB code and functions.
MATLAB can call functions and subroutines written
in the C programming language or Fortran. A wrapper
function is created allowing MATLAB data types to be
passed and returned. The dynamically loadable object
files created by compiling such functions are termed
"MEX-files" (for MATLAB executable).
Libraries written in Java, ActiveX or. NET can be
directly called from MATLAB and many MATLAB
libraries (for example XML or SQL support) are

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b jxi

implemented as wrappers around Java or ActiveX

libraries. Calling MATLAB from Java is more complicated,
but can be done with MATLAB extension, which is sold
separately by MathWorks, or using an undocumented
mechanism called JMI (Java-to-Matlab Interface), which
should not be confused with the unrelated Java Metadata
Interface that is also called JMI.
As alternatives to the MuPAD based Symbolic Math
Toolbox available from MathWorks, MATLAB can be
connected to Maple or Mathematical.

=
ij

Analytical Solution of the Problem: Problem: Consider a

simple supported steel shaft as depicted in fig. with 25mm
diameter and 775mm span between bearings, carrying two
gears weighing 175N and 275N.

=
11

11

(12 b 2j xi2 ) when xi ai

6 EI1
600 (175) (7552 6002 1752 )

18.5 1012

= 0.00119N/mm
12

275 (500) (7752 2752 5002 )

18.5 1012

= 0.00204 mm/N
600 (175) (7752 6002 1752 )

=
12

18.5 1012

= 0.00129 mm/N
Now the deflections

Find the influence coefficients.

Find
y and
y2.
And the first critical speed using Rayleighs
equation.

y1 =

11

2 12

= 175 (0.00119) + 275 (0.00129)

= 0.56 mm
y2 =

21

2 22

= 175 (0.00129) + 275 (0.00204)

= 0.79mm
wiyi2 = 175 (0.56)2 + 275 (0.79)2

Solution:

= 315.3 Nm
Given data: diameter (d) = 25mm
Length (l) = 775mm
First load (w1) = 175N
Second load (w2) = 275N
Youngs modulus (E)= 207000

wiyi2 = 175 (0.56)2 + 275 (0.79)2

= 226.5Nm
Critical speed of shaft:

Influence Coefficient:
4
I= d
64

(25) 4
64

= 19175 mm4
6EIl = 6(207000)(19175)
= 18.5 1012 Nmm3
Rayleighs Equation:

9810 (315.3)
226.5

= 117 rad/sec.
C Program:
#include<conio.h>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<math.h>
void main()
{float I,d,pi=3.14,E=207000,l,k,b,b1,b2,x,x1,x2,S11,S22,S
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12,S21,w1=175,w2=275,Y1,Y2,H1,H2,g=9810,cs;
printf("Enter the diameter:");
scanf("%f",&d);
I=pi*d*d*d*d/64;
printf("the moment of inertia is:%f\n\n",I);
printf("Enter the lenth:");
scanf("%f",&l);
k=6*E*I*l;
printf("Flexural Rigidity is:%f\n\n",k);
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:");
scanf("%f",&b);
printf("Enter the lenth to the first load:");
scanf("%f",&x);
S11=(b*x*(l*l-b*b-x*x))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S11);
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:");
scanf("%f",&b1);
printf("Enter the length to the first load:");
scanf("%f",&x1);
S22=(b1*x1*(l*l-b1*b1-x1*x1))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S22);
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:");
scanf("%f",&b2);
printf("Enter the lenth to the first load:");
scanf("%f",&x2);
S12=(b2*x2*(l*l-b2*b2-x2*x2))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S12);
S21=(b2*x2*(l*l-b2*b2-x2*x2))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S21);
Y1=w1*S11+w2*S12;
printf("Deflection at first load is:%f\n\n",Y1);
Y2=w1*S21+w2*S22;
printf("Deflection at second load: is%f\n\n",Y2);
H1=(w1*Y1)+(w2*Y2);
printf("sumation of load*deflection:%f\n\n",H1);
H2=(w1*Y1*Y1)+(w2*Y2*Y2);
printf("sumation of load*square of deflection: %f\n\n",
H2);
cs=sqrt(g*H1/H2);
printf("The critical speed of the shaft:%f\n\n",cs);
}
C Program Output:
Enter the diameter: 25
The moment of inertia is: 19165.039062

Enter the length: 775

Flexural Rigidity:18447308161024.000000
Enter the length from opposite end: 600
Enter the length to the first load: 175
Influence co efficient is: 0.001195
Enter the length from opposite end: 275
Enter the length to the first load: 500
Influence co efficient is: 0.002050
Enter the length from opposite end: 275
Enter the length to the first load: 175
Influence co efficient is: 0.001290
Influence co efficient is: 0.001290
Deflection at first load is: 0.563849
Deflection at second load is: 0.789384
Summation of load
*Deflection is: 315.754028
Summation of load*square of deflection is: 226.996735
The critical speed of the shaft is: 116.815147
MATLAB Programming:
clear all;
clc;
clear all;
w1=input('enter the value w1:')
w2=input('enter the value w2:')
D=input('enter the value D:')
L=input('enter the value L:')
E=207000;%Young's
g=9810;
b11=600;b22=500;b12=275;b21=275;
%lengths of shaft after load point
x11=175;x22=275;x12=175;x21=175;
%lengths of shaft before load point
I=pi*(D^4)/64
FR=6*E*I*L
d11=b11*x11*(L^2-b11^2-x11^2)/FR
d22=b22*x22*(L^2-b22^2-x22^2)/FR
d21=b21*x21*(L^2-b21^2-x21^2)/FR
d12=b12*x12*(L^2-b12^2-x12^2)/FR
Y1=w1*d11+w2*d12
Y2=w1*d21+w2*d22
EWY=w1*Y1+w2*Y2
EWY2=w1*Y1*Y1+w2*Y2*Y2
w=sqrt(g*EWY/EWY2)
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MATLAB Programming Output:

enter the value w1:175
w1 = 175
enter the value w2:275
w2 = 275
enter the value D:25
D = 25
enter the value L:775
L = 775
I = 1.9175e+004
FR = 1.8457e+013
d11 = 0.0012
d22 = 0.0020
d21 = 0.0013
d12 =0.0013
Y1 = 0.5636
Y2 = 0.7890
EWY = 315.5940
EWY2 = 226.7666
w = 116.8448

CONCLUSION
Thus, C and MATLAB programs of the given
problem has been written and the output obtained and a
comparison between the output of the analytical solution
and the outputs obtained from the respective programs
were successfully compared.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.

1682

Mechanical
Engineering Designby Sighleys
(Ninth Edition).
Fundamental of Machine Design Dr. T. J. Prabhu
MATLAB and SIMULINK-Herbert Shield.