UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

MEng EXAMINATIONS 2007

Part III, Mechanical Engineering

for Internal Students of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
This paper is also taken for the relevant examination for the Associateship

MACHINE SYSTEM DYNAMICS

Tuesday, 1 May: 14.00 to 17.00

This paper contains SIX questions.

Attempt question 1 and FOUR others. The numbers shown by each question are for
your guidance; they indicate approximately how the examiners intend to distribute the
marks for this paper.
A Data and Formulæ book is provided.

This is a CLOSED BOOK Examination

The rest of this page is intentionally blank.

© 2007 University of London

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1. Figure 1 shows the Frequency Response (FRF) measurement of a compressor blade
mounted in a gas compressor disc. The Receptance Nyquist plot shows data from
140 to 160 Hz around the first resonance frequency of the blade. Data were
measured at 1 Hz increments. The units of Receptance are m/N x 10-4.
-4
X10
0
1
2
3

IM AGINARY
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 148 Hz.
REAL

Figure 1
(a) Estimate the natural frequency. [2%]

(b) The mode shape is assumed to be similar to the deflected shape of a

cantilever beam loaded at its free end. Static tests measured the static
stiffness at the tip as 26.6 kN/m when rigidly clamped. Estimate the effective
mass of the blade in its first mode. [2%]

(c) Determine the Dynamic Magnification at resonance from the Nyquist plot and
hence estimate the equivalent viscous damping ratio in the blade. [4%]

(d) Measurements of the blade tip in this mode of vibration give an amplitude of
± 2 mm under in-service conditions. Estimate the amplitude of the sinusoidal
force acting at the tip required to produce this amplitude of vibration at the
resonance frequency. [2%]

(e) Estimate the static force required at the tip to produce the same deflection.
[2%]
(f) The blade can be considered as a rectangular beam 15 mm wide by 6 mm
deep by 55 mm long. In its first mode it is bending about its more flexible
axis. Estimate the amplitude of the alternating stress at the blade root when
the tip amplitude is ± 2 mm at the resonance frequency. [5%]

(g) In service the gas compressor rotates at 40,000 rpm and the root of the blade
in the compressor disc is at a radius of 100 mm from the centre of the disc.
The blade has a uniform effective mass per unit length of 0.2 kg/m. Estimate
the ‘centrifugal’ stress induced at the root due to rotation. [4%]

(h) The blade is formed from a Titanium alloy with an Ultimate Tensile Strength
of 800 MPa and an effective fatigue limit at zero mean stress of ±400 MPa.
Consider steady state operation so that the centrifugal and vibration loads
are applied continuously. The vibration level is constant ± 2 mm. Plot a
Goodman diagram to show the operating point and then estimate the factor
of safely against fatigue failure. [7%]

Page 2 of 7
2. Figure 2a represents a centrifugal air compressor unit of mass M fixed in a rigid
frame and mounted on anti-vibration springs of stiffness k1, k2 and k3 to control
horizontal and vertical motion. The centre of mass of the air compressor and
frame coincides with the axis of rotation on the compressor disc, as shown by
the centre lines in the diagram. The compressor disc out-of-balance can be
considered as the small mass m rotating at a radius e:

-5
X10
6.5
m
6
e
d

Receptance Mag.
5.5

k1 5
a b k3
k2 4.5
y
θ 4

3.5
x 40 42 44 46 48 50
Frequency Hz.
Figure 2a Figure 2b

(a) If the machine has a Moment of Inertia of value I about the centre of rotation,
set up the equations of motion for the system and derive the matrix of
frequency equations that will give the natural frequencies of the machine
motion in the plane of the drawing. [5%]

(b) The dimensions a and b are fixed by the dimensions of the compressor and
existing support points. What value of dimension d and ratio of stiffnesses k2,
k3 would be required to decouple the modes of vibration. [2%]

(c) M = 20 kg, k1= 2.5 kN/m; k2 = k3 = 3.0 kN/m. Make single degree of
freedom models for the vertical and horizontal motion and estimate the
natural frequencies for these two modes. [4%]

(d) A hammer test on top of the compressor, measuring the vertical response,
gave the receptance frequency response function (units m/N x 10-5) shown in
Figure 2b.

(i) When the compressor is run with no load it runs at 2850 rpm and an
accelerometer on top of the compressor measures a vertical 0 to peak
acceleration of 40 m/sec2. If the-out-of balance causing the vibration
could be corrected by an added mass at 50mm radius, estimate the
required balancing mass for static balance. [3%]

(ii) When the compressor is run at full load its speed drops to 2760 rpm.
Estimate the 0 to peak acceleration in this condition. [4%]

Page 3 of 7 Turn over

3. Figure 3 shows the side view of a proposed experiment to measure the vibration of
a bearing plate inside an engine casing using a Laser Doppler velocity vibrometer.
The circular casing is clamped to the ground and the laser is mounted on a stiff
support to point horizontally at a light weight plane mirror which reflects the laser
beam onto the required bearing plate. The mirror will be supported at 45o from a 4
m long uniform steel pole attached to a beam in the ceiling of the laboratory which
is in part of a large engine fabrication area. The bearing plate will be excited by an
electro-magnetic vibrator at controlled frequencies.

Clamp
Support pole

Mirror

Laser Vibrating
Laser beam plate

Engine
casing

Figure 3

(a) The steel pole could be considered either as clamped or pinned at its upper
end and free at the lower end. Sketch the first three bending mode shapes
for each condition, clearly indicating the differences between the two upper
end conditions. [4%]

(b) The characteristic deflection shape equation for a uniform beam is

given by:

v = C cosh λx + C2 sinh λx + C3 cos λx + C4 sin λx

 where λ 4 = ω2Aρ/EI

Assuming that the pole is pinned to the beam in the ceiling, derive the
frequency equation to predict the bending natural frequencies of the pole.
[6%]

(c) It is proposed to check the first three natural frequencies of the mirror support
by using a calibrated impact hammer, accelerometer and a 2 channel FFT
analyser. The accelerometer is to be placed at the mirror clamp and the
impact force from the hammer is to be applied at the midpoint of the pole.
Draw neat sketches to show the expected Bode plot and Nyquist plots for
these measurements, identifying the natural frequencies on the figure. [6%]

(d) If the ceiling of the laboratory is subjected to vibration from a nearby crane,
what effects could that have on the measurements made using the laser?
How could you test the effect of the crane on the measurement system? [2%]

Page 4 of 7
4. (a) State what type of transducers you would select for each of the following
applications and describe briefly the principles of their operation: [6%]

(i) measuring the strain due to traffic loads in a girder on a bridge;

(ii) measuring the acceleration due to wave loading of the platform of a

North Sea oil rig;

(iii) measuring the amplitude of motion of a fan blade in an aero engine

during running.

(b) A data acquisition system is set to capture 512 data points in 1 second at
equal time increments.

(i) If the data points are processed using Fourier analysis, what is the
maximum frequency which the system could detect correctly and what
is the frequency increment between adjacent lines in the frequency
spectrum? [2%]

(ii) The data acquisition system is connected directly to a continuous

sinusoidal signal of 400 Hz with no filtering applied. Sketch the
magnitude spectrum produced by Fourier analysis, marking all
significant frequency values clearly and explain the result. [4%]

(iii) A continuous sinusoidal signal of 150.5 Hz is applied to the data

acquisition system without windowing. Sketch the magnitude spectrum
produced by Fourier analysis, again marking all significant frequencies
clearly. [3%]

(iv) What is the phenomenon which explains the result of (iii) and how can
its effect be minimised? Sketch the magnitude spectrum corresponding
to (iii) but with this treatment applied to the signal. [3%]

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5. (a) A simple model of a cruise control system for a car considers the car as a
rigid mass, m, and neglects the inertia of the wheels. Air resistance provides
a retarding force, bẋ where ẋ is the velocity of the car.

(i) If the linear force provided by the engine and transmission system is F,
write down the equation of motion for the system, apply the Laplace
transform and hence obtain the (open loop) transfer function between
the velocity, ẋ(s), and the input force, F(s), where s is the Laplace
transform variable. (NB you are asked for the transfer function between
velocity and force, not displacement and force.) [4%]

(ii) Draw the block diagram of a simple proportional control system

designed to keep the velocity of the car constant at a value φ and obtain
the (closed loop) transfer function between the velocity, ẋ(s), and the
desired value, φ(s). [7%]

(b) The step response of a motor speed control system using simple proportional
control with Kp=100 is shown in Figure 5a. There is a large steady-state error
(the steady state amplitude should be 10) and the rise time is very slow.
Figure 5b shows the effect of increasing the gain to Kp=10000. The steady
state error is now much smaller and the rise time is acceptable. [7%]

(i) Discuss the likely disadvantages of adopting this solution.

(ii) Discuss possible alternative controllers that might provide a more

satisfactory solution.

10 10

8 8
Amplitude
Amplitude

6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Time (sec) Time (sec)

Figure 5a Figure 5b

Page 6 of 7
6. (a) What is a root locus plot, and what is its use in the analysis of control
systems? [5%]

(b) A simple linear servomechanism consists of a motor which supplies a torque

equal to k times the error between input (φ) and output (θ). The motor drives
a rotational load of mass moment of inertia I and equivalent viscous damping
coefficient (less than critical) c. In a particular mechanism, I = 80 kg m2, k =
2kNm/rad, and c = 100 Nms/rad. If a step rotation of 10° is applied to the
input when the mechanism is at rest, find the time to reach the first overshoot
value and the magnitude of the first overshoot. [13%]

© 2007 University of London

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