System Modeling Coursework

Class 21-23:
(i) Transmissibility of Vibrations
(ii) Vibration Isolation and control
(iii) Dynamic Vibration measurement

P.R. VENKATESWARAN
Faculty, Instrumentation and Control Engineering,
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
Karnataka 576 104 INDIA
Ph: 0820 2925154, 2925152
Fax: 0820 2571071
Email: pr.venkat@manipal.edu, prv_i@yahoo.com
Web address: http://www.esnips.com/web/SystemModelingClassNotes
 WARNING!

• I claim no originality in all these notes. These are the

compilation from various sources for the purpose of
delivering lectures. I humbly acknowledge the
wonderful help provided by the original sources in
this compilation.
• For best results, it is always suggested you read the
source material.

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 Contents

• Transmissibility phenomenon
– Force excitation and motion excitation model
– Damping ratio vs. Transmissibility
• Vibration isolation
– Source isolation
– Isolation mounts
– Isolation pads
– Inertia Block
• Vibration measurement
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 Transmissibility

• Assuming that the forcing function is harmonic in

nature, we shall consider two cases of vibration
transmission
– one in which force is transmitted to the supporting
structure, and
– one in which the motion of the supporting structure is
transmitted to the machine

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 (i) Force Excitation

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 Transmissibility calculations

• The magnitude of this force in terms of frequency is

given by:

• The oscillation magnitude of the frequency is:

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 Transmissibility ratio

• Substituting the relation for x(w) in the first

equation, we get transmissibility ratio

• T is defined as the transmissibility and represents

the ratio of the amplitude of the force transmitted to
the supporting structure to that of the exciting force.
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 (ii) Motion excitation model

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 Transmissibility for motion excitation

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 Important concepts:

• Isolators should be chosen so as not to excite the

natural frequencies of the system
• damping is important in the range of resonance
whether the dynamic system is operating near
resonance or must pass through resonance during
start-up;
• in the isolation region, the larger the ratio (i.e.,
the smaller the value of ), the smaller the
transmissibility will be.

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 Damping ratio vs Transmissibility

Figure 3 Design Curves for the Transmissibility vs. the Frequency ratio

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 Control Techniques (a) Source alteration

• This may be accomplished by making the source more rigid

from a structural standpoint, changing certain parts, balancing,
or improving dimensional tolerances.
• The system mass and stiffness may be adjusted in such a way so
that resonant frequencies of the system do not coincide with the
forcing frequency. This process is called detuning. Sometimes it
is also possible to reduce the number of coupled resonators that
exist between the vibration source and the receiver of interest.
This technique is called decoupling.
• However, it is also important to ensure that the application of
these schemes does not produce other problems elsewhere.

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 (b) Isolation

• In general, vibration isolators can be broken down into

three categories: (i) metal springs, (ii) elastometric
mounts, and (iii) resilient pads.
• When building or correcting a design, always ensure that the
machine under investigation and the element that drives it
both rest on a common base.
• Always design the isolators to protect against the lowest
frequency that can be generated by the machine.
• Design the system so that its natural frequency will be less
than one-third of the lowest forcing frequency present.

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 (i) Metal Springs

• Their use spans the spectrum from light, delicate

instruments to very heavy industrial machinery.
• The advantages of metal springs are: (a) they are resistant to
environmental factors such as temperature, corrosion,
solvents, and the like; (b) they do not drift or creep; (c) they
permit maximum deflection; and (d) they are good for low-
frequency isolation.
• The disadvantages of springs are (a) they possess almost no
damping and hence the transmissibility at resonance can be
very high; (b) springs act like a short circuit for high-
frequency vibration; and (c) care must be taken to ensure
that a rocking motion does not exist.

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 Eliminating disadvantages

• The damping lacked by springs can be obtained by placing dampers in

parallel with the springs.
• Rocking motions can be minimized by selecting springs in such a way
that each spring used will deflect the same amount.
• In addition, the use of an inertia block that weighs from one to two
times the amount of the supported machinery minimizes rocking
lowers the center of gravity of the system, and helps to uniformly
distribute the load.
• High-frequency transmission through springs caused by the low
damping ratio can be blocked by using rubber pads in series with the
springs. A typical damping ratio for steel springs is 0.005.

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 Design procedure for springs

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 Design procedure for the springs

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 Numerical No. 1

• A machine set operating at 2400 rpm is mounted on

an inertia block. The total system weighs 907 N. The
weight is essentially evenly distributed. We want to
select four steel springs upon which to mount the
machine. The isolation required is 90%.

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 Solution to Numerical No.1

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 Solution to Numerical No.1

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 Typical Load vs. Deflection Curve for an Elastomeric Mount

Figure 6!

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 (ii) Elastomeric mounts

• Elastomeric mounts consist primarily of natural rubber and synthetic

rubber materials such as neoprene.
• In general, elastomeric mounts are used to isolate small electrical and
mechanical devices from relatively high forcing frequencies.
• They are also useful in the protection of delicate electronic
equipment. In a controlled environment, natural rubber is perhaps
the best and most economical isolator.
• Natural rubber contains inherent damping, which is very useful if the
machine operates near resonance or passes through resonance
during "startup" or "shutdown." Synthetic rubber is more desirable
when the environment is somewhat hazardous.

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 (ii) Elastomeric mounts
• Rubber can be used in either tension, compression or shear; however,
it is normally used in compression or shear and rarely used in tension.
In compression it possesses the capacity for high-energy storage;
however, its useful life is longer when used in shear.
• Rubber is classified by a durometer number. Rubber employed in
isolation mounts normally ranges from 30-durometer rubber, which is
soft, to 80-durometer rubber, which is hard. The typical damping ratio
for natural rubber and neoprene is z = 0.05.
• It possesses different characteristics depending upon whether the
material is used in strips or bulk, and whether it is used under static or
dynamic conditions.
• The steps for selecting an elastomeric mount are essentially those
enumerated in the previous section on metal springs.

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 Numerical No. 3

• A drum weighing 120 N and operating at 3600 rpm

induces vibration in adjacent equipment. Four
vertical mounting points support the drum. Choose
one of the isolators shown in Figure 6 so as to
achieve 90° vibration isolation.

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 Solution to Numerical No. 3

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 (iii) Isolation pads
• The materials in this particular classification include such things as
cork, felt, and fiberglass.
• In general, these items are easy to use and install. They are purchased
in sheets and cut to fit the particular application, and can be stacked
to produce varying degrees of isolation.
• Cork, for example, can be obtained in squares (like floor tile) 1 to 2.5
cm in thickness or in slabs up to 15 cm thick for large deflection
applications. Cork is very resistive to corrosion and solvents and is
relatively insensitive to a wide range of temperatures.
• Some of the felt pads are constructed of organic material and hence
should not be employed in an industrial environment where solvents
are used. Fiberglass pads, on the other hand, are very resistant to
industrial solvents. A typical damping ratio for felt and cork is ζ =
0.05 to 0.06.

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 Numerical No. 4

• A large machine is mounted on a concrete slab. The

lowest expected forcing frequency is 60 Hz. If the
isolator will be loaded at 7 N/cm2, choose the
proper fiberglass isolator from the manufacturer's
data shown in Figure 7 to produce 80% isolation.
Assume that the damping ratio of the material is z =
0.05.

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 Typical Natural Frequency vs. Static Load Curves

Figure 7

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 Solution to Numerical No. 4

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 (iv) Inertia blocks

• Isolated concrete inertia blocks play an important part in the

control of vibration transmission.
• Large-inertia forces at low frequencies caused by equipment
such as reciprocating compressors may cause motion that is
unacceptable for proper machine operation and transmit
large forces to the supporting structure.
• One method of limiting motion is to mount the equipment
on an inertia base. This heavy concrete or steel mass limits
motion by overcoming the inertia forces generated by the
mounted equipment

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 Examples for Inertia blocks

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 Inertia Blocks

• Low natural frequency isolation requires a large deflection

isolator such as a soft spring. However, the use of soft
springs to control vibration can lead to rocking motions
which are unacceptable. Hence, an inertia block mounted
on the proper isolators can be effectively used to limit the
motion and provide the needed isolation.
• Inertia blocks are also useful in applications where a system
composed of a number of pieces of equipment must be
continuously supported. An example of such equipment is a
system employing calibrated optics.

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 Advantages of inertia blocks

• they lower the center of gravity and thus offer an added

degree of stability;
• they increase the mass and thus decrease vibration
amplitudes and minimize rocking;
• they minimize alignment errors because of the inherent
stiffness of the base; and
• they act as a noise barrier between the floor on which they
are mounted and the equipment that is mounted on them.
• One must always keep in mind, however, that to be
effective, inertia blocks must be mounted on isolators

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 Vibration measurement

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 How to measure vibration

• Measurements should be made to produce the data needed

to draw meaningful conclusions from the system under test.
• These data can be used to minimize or eliminate the
vibration and thus the resultant noise.
• There are also examples where the noise is not the
controlling parameter, but rather the quality of the product
produced by the system.
• For example, in process control equipment, excessive
vibration can damage the product, limit processing speeds,
or even cause catastrophic machine failure.

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 Transducers

• In general, the transducers employed in vibration

analyses convert mechanical energy into electrical
energy; that is, they produce an electrical signal
which is a function of mechanical vibration.

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 Velocity pickups

• The electrical output signal of a velocity pickup is

proportional to the velocity of the vibrating mechanism.
• Since the velocity of a vibrating mechanism is cyclic in
nature, the sensitivity of the pickup is expressed in peak
milli-volts/cm/s and thus is a measure of the voltage
produced at the point of maximum velocity.
• The devices have very low natural frequencies and are
designed to measure vibration frequencies that are greater
than the natural frequency of the pickup.

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 Velocity pick ups
• Velocity pickups can be mounted in a number of ways; for example,
they can be stud-mounted or held magnetically to the vibrating
surface. However, the mounting technique can vastly affect the
pickup's performance.
• For example, the stud-mounting technique shown in Figure 10(a), in
which the pickup is mounted flush with the surface and silicone
grease is applied to the contact surfaces, is a good reliable method.
The magnetically mounted pick-up, as shown in Figure 10(b), on the
other hand, in general has a smaller usable frequency range than the
stud-mounted pickup.
• In addition, it is important to note that the magnetic mount, which
has both mass and spring like properties, is located between the
velocity pickup and the vibrating surface and thus will affect the
measurements. This mounting technique is viable, but caution must
be employed when it is used.
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 Transducer mounting pickup

(a) Stud-Mount Pickup; (b) Magnetically Held Velocity Pickup

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 Final comments

• The velocity pickup is a useful transducer because it is

sensitive and yet rugged enough to withstand extreme
industrial environments.
• In addition, velocity is perhaps the most frequently
employed measure of vibration severity.
• However, the device is relatively large and bulky, is
adversely affected by magnetic fields generated by large ac
machines or ac current carrying cables, and has somewhat
limited amplitude and frequency characteristic.

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 Accelerometers

• The accelerometer generates an output signal that is

proportional to the acceleration of the vibrating mechanism.
This device is, perhaps, preferred over the velocity pickup,
for a number of reasons.
• For example, accelerometers have good sensitivity
characteristics and a wide useful frequency range; they are
small in size and light in weight and thus are capable of
measuring the vibration at a specific point without, in
general, loading the vibrating structure.
• In addition, the devices can be used easily with electronic
integrating networks to obtain a voltage proportional to
velocity or displacement.

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 Accelerometer mounting

Figure Mounting Technique for Eliminating Selected Measurement Errors

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 Accelerometer pick up

• Note that the accelerometer mounting employs an isolation

stud and an isolation washer. This is done so that the
measurement system can be grounded at only one point,
preferably at the analyzer.
• An additional ground at the accelerometer will provide a
closed (ground) loop which may induce a noise signal that
affects the accelerometer output.
• The sealing compound applied at the cable entry into the
accelerometer protects the system from errors caused by
moisture.

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 Preamplifiers

• The second element in the vibration measurement

system is the preamplifier. This device, which may
consist of one or more stages, serves two very useful
purposes: it amplifies the vibration pickup signal,
which is in general very weak, and it acts as an
impedance transformer or isolation device between
the vibration pickup and the processing and display
equipment.

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 Preamplifiers
• The preamplifier may be designed as a voltage amplifier in which the
output voltage is proportional to the input voltage, or a charge
amplifier in which the output voltage is proportional to the input
charge.
• The difference between these two types of preamplifiers is important
for a number of reasons. For example, changes in cable length (i.e.,
cable capacitance) between the accelerometer and preamplifier are
negligible when a charge amplifier is employed.
• When a voltage amplifier is used however, the system is very sensitive
to changes in cable capacitance.
• Voltage amplifiers, on the other hand, are often less expensive and
more reliable because they contain fewer components and thus are
easier to construct.

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 Processing and data equipment

• The instruments used for the processing and display of

vibration data are, with minor modifications, the same as
those described earlier for noise analyses.
• The processing equipment is typically some type of
spectrum analyzer. The analyzer may range from a very
simple device which yields, for example, the rms value of
the vibration displacement, to one that yields an essentially
instantaneous analysis of the entire vibration frequency
spectrum.
• They normally come equipped with some form of graphical
display, such as a cathode ray tube, which provides detailed
frequency data.

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 And, before we break…

• “It is good to have money and the things money can

buy, but it is good too, to check up once in a while
and make sure you haven’t lost the things money
can’t buy”
– George Horace Lorimer

Thanks for listening…

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