ME-475

Mechanical Vibrations
Fall 2016

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore

Lecture 3

Last Time:

Examples of finding equivalent spring constant

Series, parallel and structural members

Non-Linear Springs

Today:

Inertia and damping elements

Equivalent mass (inertia)

Harmonic motion

Inertia (Mass) Elements

Discrete masses:

Point mass

Has translation only, therefore kinetic energy is

Rigid body

Has both translation and rotation, therefore kinetic energy is

Equivalent Mass
Start with a system with four masses (see (a)). Find
the equivalent mass as in (b)

Damping Elements

In real life, systems do not vibrate forever, or if they do, there

should be something pumping energy into the system

Energy initially associated with an oscillatory motion is gradually

converted to heat and/or sound

This mechanism is known as damping

Most common damping mechanism:

Viscous Damping
Coulomb friction
Material or Solid or Hysteretic Damping

Viscous Damping (VD)

Experienced by systems vibrating in a fluid medium such as air,

water, oil
Resistance offered by the fluid to the moving body causes energy to
be dissipated

Amount of energy dissipated depends on:

Fluid viscosity
Vibration frequency
Relative velocity of the vibrating body wrt that of the fluid

Typically damping force is proportional to relative velocity

Shape (geometry) characteristics

Damping through Friction

Damping force is constant in magnitude and opposite to relative velocity

between bodies in contact

Proportional to the normal contact force between bodies

Caused by rubbing surfaces that are dry or without sufficient lubrication

W
Fs= k x
m

Instantaneous
direction of motion

F= N
N

Direction is
opposite to that of
motion. Always.

Material of Solid or Hysteretic Damping

Materials are deformed, energy is absorbed and dissipated by the material

Friction between internal planes, which slip and slide as the deformations
take place
Stress-strain diagram shows hysteresis loop, i.e.,

Area of this loop denotes energy lost per cycle due to damping
Rubber-like materials do this without permanent deformation

Harmonic motion

Any motion that repeats itself is called Periodic Motion

Simplest type of periodic motion is Harmonic motion
In harmonic motion, acceleration is:

Directly proportional to displacement

Directed towards mean position

Harmonic Motion (Contd)

If displacement x(t) represents a harmonic function, same holds true
for the velocity and acceleration:

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Definitions

Cycle: The moment of a vibrating body from its undisturbed (equilibrium)

position to its extreme position in one direction, then to undisturbed
position, then to extreme position in other direction and then back to
undisturbed position
Amplitude: The maximum displacement of a vibrating body from its
equilibrium position
Period of oscillation: Time period taken to complete one cycle

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