Part1BExperimentalEngineering

IntegratedCoursework ExperimentA1
Location: DPO (Short)

DynamicVibrationAbsorber

Pleasebringyourmechanicsdatabookandyourresultsfrom
firstyearexperiment7(vibrationmodes)tothislaboratory.

Thisexperimentispartofthe1BEarthquakeVibrationofStructuresIntegratedCoursework. In
thisexperiment,youwillsimulatetheeffectofaddingatuneddampertothestructuretoreduce
resonantvibration.

TheanalysisprogramiswritteninMatlab.Torunit,openaterminalononeofthemachinesinthe
DPOandtypedynamics.

1Aims

Theaimsofthisexperimentare:

1.toconsolidateandextendsomeofthevibrationtheorylearnedinPartIA;

2.toinvestigatesomeaspectsofthedesignoftuneddynamicvibrationabsorbers;

3.toinvestigatetheeffectsofviscousdampinginatypicaltwodegreeoffreedomsystem.

2StructuralDynamicsBackground

Thenaturalfrequencyofasystemisthefrequencyatwhichitwillvibratefreelyinsimpleharmonic
motion,whensetinmotion.Anndegreeoffreedomsystemwillpossessnnaturalfrequencies,and
nmodesofvibration,whichcanbedeterminedbysolvingtheequationsofmotionforthesystemin
freevibration.Itisoftenthecasethatonlythefirstfewmodeswillbesignificant.

Ifalightlydampedsystemisexcitedatornearoneofitsnaturalfrequencies,largeamplitude
oscillationswilloccur.Thisphenomenonisknownasresonance. Suchlargedisplacementsare
likelytocausesevereuserdiscomfortinthecaseofabuilding,andmaygeneratestresseslarge
enoughtocauseultimatefailure.Overalongperiod,thelikelihoodofdamageduetofatiguewill
also be increased. Thusitis important indesigntoknow boththe naturalfrequencies of the
structureandthefrequenciesatwhichexcitationislikelytooccurandtokeepthemseparate.In

1
 Figure 1: Tuned Vibration Absorber Taipei 101,
Taiwan. This absorber is primarily to reduce wind
inducedmotion.

general,theexcitationfrequencycannotbecontrolled,butthenaturalfrequencyofthestructure
(whichdependsonitsmassandstiffness)canbealteredtoavoidresonance.Anothermethodof
controllingvibrationsistoattachavibrationabsorbertothesystemwhichwillextractenergyatthe
resonantfrequency.

Structuresareoftenidealisedassimplesystemsforthepurposeofanalysis.Thesimplestoftheseis
thesingledegreeoffreedom(1DOF)springmasssystemshowninfigure2.

Inastaticanalysis,thedisplacementissimplygiven
byHookesLaw, f

f m
y=
k
i.e.thestaticspringforceistheonlyforceresisting y
k
the loading. However, in a dynamic analysis, the
loading anddisplacements varywithtimeandthus
there are also forces due to acceleration. The
problemcanbeexpressedinanequationofmotion
Figure2:1DOFsystem
relating inertial, damping, stiffness and loading
forces(seeDataBook):

m y y ky = f

Intheabsenceofdamping,theequationofmotioninfreevibrationis

m y ky=0

whichcanbesolvedtogivetheundampednaturalfrequency,

n=

2
k
m
Thenaturalperiodofthesystemisthen

2
T 0=
n

Inthissituation,aninitialperturbationwillcausethesystemtooscillatewithconstantamplitude
forever.Thepresenceofdampingisanenergylossmechanismwhichcausestheoscillationstodie
awayovertime.ThedampingrateisexpressedinNs/m.Thesizeofthedampingratedetermines
how fast the systemwillreturntoits equilibrium position followinganyperturbation (and for
periodicforcing,higherdampingratesreducetheoscillationamplitudeatresonance).Thecritical
dampingratecritisthesmallestvalueof whichinhibitsoscillation(orovershoot)whenthe
systemisdisplacedandreleased,andcanbedefinedas

crit=2mn

Thedampingofasystemcanbeexpressedasafractionofthiscriticalvalue

=
crit

andtheequationofmotioncanthenberewrittenas

y 2 y f
y= =x
2n n k

Thepresenceofdampingaltersthenaturalfrequencyofthesystem;thedampednaturalfrequency
isgivenby

d = n 1 2

A frequency response graph for a structure is a curve

showing the amplitude of response at a range of forcing
frequencies,withapeakoccurringatthenaturalfrequency.
Thehalfpowerbandwidthisthewidthofthepeakatalevel
1/ 2 timesthemaximumamplitude,andisacharacteristic
whichcanbeusedtodescribetheamountofdampinginthe
system. The Mechanics Data Book gives expressions for
boththeresponseamplitudeatresonanceandthehalfpower
bandwidthfora1DOFsystem.Suchsimpleexpressionsare
not available formultidegreeoffreedom systems,but the
analysiscanbeeasilycarriedoutwiththecomputerprogram
provided.
Figure 3: Tuned vibration
absorberonthemodelstructure

3
3Introductiontotheexperiment

Lastyear,youlookedattheresponseofamodelbuildingtoavibratinginputforce.Inafullsize
building,vibrationcausesproblemsofdiscomfort,damageandpossiblecollapse,soitisimportant
tolookatwaystoreduceit.Inthisexperiment,youwilluseacomputermodelofthisbuildingto
investigate the effect ofa tuned vibration absorber. Suchanitem can beusedonafullsize
buildingtomodifythebehaviourofthestructuretypically,itisusedtoreducetheresponseofthe
structureatresonance.Aswellasreducingmotioninanearthquake,suchsystemscanbeusedto
reduceacousticvibration,orwindinducedmovement.

Thecomputerprogramusedinthisexperimentallowssystemsofoneortwodegreesoffreedomto
beanalysed.Theleftsetofcontrolsisusedtorunaharmonicresponsethisistheresponsethat
thesystemwillproduceifsubjectedtoasinewaveoveralongtimeperiodandallowedtostabilise
intoasteadystate.Thetransientresponseistheresponseofthesystemundertheapplicationofa
stepforcethisisatransientresponsethatdiesawayovertime,asthesystemsettlesintoitsnew,
stationarysteadystate.

Figure4:Screenshotofthemainprogramwindow

4
4SingleDegreeoffreedomanalysis

Althoughthissystemhas3degreesoffreedom,wewilllookateachmodeseparately.Asthisisa
linearsystem,theseresultsmaybeaddedtogethertofindthecompleteresponseofthesystem.

First,wewillstudythefundamental(lowestfrequency)modeofthe structureonitsown,(i.e.
withouttheadditionofanabsorber).Thismaybemodelledasanequivalentmassspringdashpot
combinationasshowninfigure2.Usingthemeasuredmassofafloorofthestructure,calculatethe
equivalentstiffness forvibrationinthefirstresonantmodeasmeasuredinthe1Alab. Youwill
needtoknowtheundampednaturalfrequencyforthestructureasdampingislight,thiswillbe
approximately the same as the resonant frequency (the damped natural frequency, which you
measuredinfirstyearexperiment7).

m=1.79kg k=........N/m =8Ns/m

ThesevalueswillenableyoutouseinformationintheMechanicsDataBooktochecksomeofthe
results you will obtain from the computer program. (In practice, it is always advisable where
possibletousesomehandcalculationstoverifytheoutputfromacomputer.)Themassisthesame
asthatmeasuredforthestructureinthe1Alab;thedampingrateismeasuredfrombymatchingthe
predictedcurvetothatmeasuredonthestructure.

4.1Harmonicresponse:frequencyanalysis

Amodelearthquakeissimulatedbyapplyingasinusoidalforcetothestructure,atgroundfloor
level(asinexperiment7lastyear).Wewouldliketoinvestigatetheresponseofthebuildinginthe
firstmode.

Forthisexperiment,theinputforcewillbemodelledbyasinusoidalinputforce.Althoughthisis
perhapsnotarealisticmodelofanearthquake,itallowsausefulanalysisofthebuilding'sresponse,
which can later be extended. Use your results from last year to select a suitable range of
frequencies to analyse (remember, we are looking at the response of the structure in the first
vibrationmode).Pickatypicalinputforceforthestructurehowmuchforceittakestoproducea
displacementofaround5mmatthefirstfloor,forexample.

5
Findandrecordthefrequencyofthepeakresponseandthepeakdisplacementamplitudecalculated
bytheprogram,andcomparethesewiththeresultsfromtheDataBookandyourmeasuredresults
fromlastyear.Usingthezoomfacilityintheprogram,findthehalfpowerbandwidthofthe
harmonicresponseandcomparethiswiththeDataBookresult. Enteryourresultsinthetable
below.

Frequency of peak Amplitude of peak Half power

(Hz) (m) bandwidth(Hz)
Measuredresults

ResultsusingData
Bookformulae
Resultsusing
computerprogram

Whatisthemainsourceoferrorinthecomputerprogram?

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................
Howdoestheorderofmagnitudeofthiserrorcomparetothatoftheassumedmassspringdamper
model?

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Figure 5: Tunedabsorber to be used on

themodelstructure
6
4.2Transientresponse:timeanalysis

Wewouldalsoliketolookattheresponseofthestructuretoastepinputforce.Thisproducesa
transientresponseinthestructure(asopposedtothesteadystateresponsetoacontinuoussine
wave).Itisalsoimaginablethatthisisamorerealisticmodelofanearthquake(possibly!).Carry
outananalysiswithastepinputforceofthesamemagnitudeasyouusedintheprevioussection.

Describetheshapeoftheoutputresponse:

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

5TwoDegreeofFreedomAnalysis
Absorber
m2
5.1Optimisingtheabsorberdamping 2
k2 f
Nowconsidertheadditionofatunedabsorbertothemodel Structure
m1
building. This is shown in idealised form in figure 6 (a
photographoftheabsorberusedonthemodelstructureis y
showninfigure5).Themovingmass(m2)oftheabsorberis k1 1
approximately0.1kg.

First,calculatetheappropriatespringconstantk2suchthat
the absorber is tuned (recall from Part 1A, that this Figure6:2DOFsystem
requirestheundampednaturalfrequencyoftheabsorberin
isolationtobethesameasthefrequencyofthetroublesomeresonanceitisbeingusedtoeliminate.)

k2=............................
Figure7:AStockbridgedamper,used
Now investigate theeffect ofchangingthedamping toreducevibrationofoverheadpower
rate 2 of the absorber over a range of frequencies. lines

7
Foreachdampingrateconsidered,youshouldrunboththefrequencyanalysis(i.e.withaharmonic
input)andthetimeanalysis(withastepinput).Thefrequencyanalysisallowsyoutoidentifythe
peak harmonic response of both the building and the absorber to harmonic forcing; the time
analysisallowsyoutoidentifyhowlongthetransientresponseofthebuildingandtheabsorber
takestodieaway.Makesureyouapplytheforcetothebuilding,andnottotheabsorberalso
notethatyouhavetospecifyaoneortwodegreeoffreedomanalysis.

Forthecaseof2 =100Ns/m,thedashpotcanbeapproximatedasarigidlink.Usethislumped
massassumptiontoestimatethefrequencyandmagnitudeofthepeakresponseusingtheData
Bookformulae,andcomparethiswiththecomputersolution.

Damping( 2)=100Ns/m Frequencyofpeak(Hz) Amplitudeofpeak(m)

ResultsusingDataBookformulae

Resultsusingcomputerprogram

Nowinvestigatetheharmonicandtransientresponsesofthebuildingwiththeabsorberfitted,fora
rangeofdashpotrates2.Youalreadyhavetheresultsfor2=100Ns/msotrytheotherextreme
valueof2 =0.01Ns/m.Next,tryabroadrangeofvaluesbetweenthesetwoextremes,tryingto
identify damping values where you get a reduction in the response of the structure. In the
neighbourhoodofthesevalues,tryanarrowerrangeofdampingvaluestoidentifytheoptimum
value that is,theonewhichgives(i)theminimum value ofpeakharmonic responseof the
buildingand(ii)afastdecayofthestepresponseofthebuilding.

Writeyourresultsinthetablebelowandplotagraphofthepeakharmonicresponseofthebuilding
asafunctionofdamping,usingthegraphpaperattheendofthishandout.Whenplotting,notethat
thegraphusesalogscaleandtakecaretoselectvaluesof2whichadequatelycoverthisscale.

Thetimefortheresponsetodecaycompletelyistheoreticallyinfiniteapracticalalternativeisto
calculatethelimitsofanenvelopewhichcovers10%oftheequilibriumresponseateithersideof
thisvalue,andidentifythetimetakenfortheresponsetoenterthisenvelopeandnotleaveitagain
(asmayhappenwhen modulationoccurs). Anydecaytimelongerthan30sisofnointerest,so
thereisnoneedtorecordtimesoncetheyexceedthis.

Damping,2 Peakharmonic Peakharmonic Time for building

responseofbuilding responseofabsorber response to decay to
Ns/m m m within 10% of the
equilibriumposition

8
1.Whatdampingratedoyourecommendforthedynamicabsorber?

.............................................................................................................................................

2.Giveameasureoftheeffectivenessofadynamicvibrationabsorberwhich
usesthedampingrateyouhaverecommended:

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

3.Explainthereasonforthemodulationofthetimeresponse:

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

4.Sketchandexplaintheshapeofthefrequencyresponsegraph:
Lowdamping Optimaldamping Highdamping

9
Lowdamping.......................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Optimaldamping..................................................................................

..............................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................

Highdamping......................................................................................

..............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................. Figure 8: A tuned

absorberonawineglass
.............................................................................................................. (seehttp://www2.eng.cam
.ac.uk/~hemh/tmd.htm)
..............................................................................................................

5.Sketchandexplaintheshapeofthetimeresponsegraph:

Lowdamping Optimaldamping Highdamping

10
Lowdamping.......................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Optimaldamping.................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

Highdamping......................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

6.Canyouthinkofawaytoimprovetheeffectivenessofthedynamicvibrationabsorber?

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

ALJ/DC/JWSeptember2006(revised)
AR/HEMHAugust2007(revised)

11
12