University of Jordan

School of Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Vibrations Lab

Mass-Spring System

Student name ID number

Zaina Abdelaziz 0156297

Sinan Assaid 0151566

Laith Qudah 0141398

Saeed Asha 0147566

Jabreel Qasswal 0155148

V- Collected Data:
Table-7.1 Data collected from the experiment execution
Trial m (kg) L (cm) T (second)
1 1.2 22.1 3.4
2 1.6 22.6 3.7
3 2.0 23.1 4.0
4 2.4 23.6 4.2
5 2.8 24.1 4.4
6 3.2 24.5 4.7
7 3.6 25.1 4.9
8 4.0 25.5 5.0
9 4.4 25.8 5.3
10 4.8 26.2 5.5

Table-7.2 Dimensions and parameters of the spring

Parameter Value
N (turns) 18
D (mm) 42.45
d (mm) 3.3
Lo (cm) 21

VI- Data Processing:

 Sample Calculation:

T 3.4
τ1= = =0.3 4 sec
10 10
3. 7
τ 2= =0.3 7 sec
10

4.0
τ3= =0. 40 sec
10
δ 1=L−Lo =221−210=1 1 mm

δ 2=22 6−210=1 6 mm

δ 3=2 3 1−210=21 mm

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VII- Results:
Table-7.3 Data processing analysis
Trial m (kg)  (mm)  (second) 2 (second)2
1 1.2 11 0.34 0.1156
2 1.6 16 0.37 0.1369
3 2.0 21 0.40 0.1600
4 2.4 26 0.42 0.1764
5 2.8 31 0.44 0.1936
6 3.2 35 0.47 0.2209
7 3.6 41 0.49 0.2401
8 4.0 45 0.50 0.2500
9 4.4 48 0.53 0.2809
10 4.8 52 0.55 0.3025

The slope of the best fit line is:

4π2 4 π2
Slope S1= ⇒ K= ≅ 775.607 N /m
K 0.0509
Y 2 Y∫ ¿
∫ ¿= 4Kπ (mC +mS ) ⇒mS= K × 2
−mC=
775.607× 0.0 55
2
−1.47=0.38 95 kg ¿ ¿
4π 4π

2
X ∫ ¿=−(m + m )⇒m =− X∫¿−m =1. 08−1.47=0.39 kg ¿ ¿
C S C
C

The slope of the best fit line is:

K
Slope S2= ⇒ K=S2 × g=86.28× 9.81=846.4068 N /m
g
4 π2 2
S1 ×S 2=0.0 509 ×86.28=4. 392= ⇒ g ≅ 8.989 m/s
g
|9.81−8.989|
ε g= × 100 %=8.37 %
9.81

3
 G d4 70 ×1 09 ×0.003 34
K t h eo= = =753.63 N /m
8 N D 3 8× 18 ×0.0424 53
|753.63−775.667|
ε S 1= ×100 %=2.92 %
753.63
|753.63−846.4068|
ε S 2= ×100 %=12.3 %
753.63
32 π 2 D3 N
(
Slope ( S1 ) =
G d4 )
32 π 2 D 3 N 32 π 2 × 0.0424 53 ×18
⇒ G= = ≅ 72GPa
S1d4 0.0509 × 0.0033 4
|80−86|
ε G= ×100 %=5 %
80

Table-7.4 Data processing results

Spring Stiffness K
K (theoretical) = 753.63 (N/m)
From: Slope K (N/m) Percent Error ()
Figure-3 0.0509 775.667 2.92%
Figure-4 93.75 846.4068 12.3%

Spring Effective Mass ms

From Figure-7.2:
YInter (kg.m/N) 0.055 ms (kg) 0.3895
XInter (kg) -1.08 ms (kg) 0.39

Gravitational Acceleration g
From Figures- S1S2 (sec2/m) g (m/sec2) Percent Error ()
7.2 & 4 4.392 8.989 8.37%

Modulus Of Rigidity G
From Slope (m/N) G (GPa) Percent Error ()
Figure-7.2 19.65 72 2.86%

VIII- Discussion And Conclusions:

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1) What is the physical meaning of the Effective Mass of a spring? Is there an effective
mass for Torsion springs?

All real springs have mass which contributes to the inertia of the very system that is controlled
by the spring. Thus the period calculated is an idealization (a massless spring) and measured
periods should be longer because of the inertia contributed by the spring itself. Consider a
uniform coil spring. The coil next to the oscillating mass shares (nearly) the motion of the
mass, a coil half way along the spring oscillates with half of the amplitude, and the coil next to
the stationary support does (nearly) not oscillate. We wish to average the motions of the coils
by considering the kinetic energy of each coil. The result is that the spring has 1/3 of the kinetic
energy that if would have if all coils moved with the fastest coil. Therefore, the spring can be
considered to have an "effective" mass of 1/3.  The period of oscillation of the system is
predicted to be:

This approximation is valid for linear springs that follow the linearization assumption. Thus it
can be applied to the torsion springs, too. Instead of effected mass, effective mass moment of
inertia is used.

2) Derive a formula for the effective mass of a linear helical spring ms in terms of its total
mass Ms?

The effective mass can be calculated using

Raleigh's method. Let the spring have a uniform
mass per unit length μ=ms / L and total mass
ms and length L. If the coordinate of the mass (the
spring's end-point) is y, then its velocity is ẏ .
The velocity of a point at a distance x below the
top of the spring is then, by proportionality:

ẋ ẏ ẏ
= ẋ=x
x L L

Hence an infinitesimal piece of the spring of

length dx located at a distance x below the top of
the spring contributes a kinetic energy:

5
And the complete spring contributes a kinetic energy, Ks:

ms
Which means that the effective mass of the spring = 3

3) Use the dimensions of the spring to estimate its volume and total mass (by approximate
calculations), and apply in the formula derived above to find its effective mass. Verify
your experimental results.

If the spring was compressed so its turns close to each other, then we get a hollow cylindrical
tube as in the figure.

π 2
V = A c × h=
4
[ D −( D−2 d )2 ] × ( 18 d )

π
V = × [ 0.0424 52−( 0.04245−2× 0.0033 )2 ] ×18 ×0.0033
4

V =24.11× 1 0−6 m 3

ρ steel =7840 kg/m 3

⇒ ms =ρ ×V =7840 × 24.11× 1 0−6=0.189 kg
m s 0.189
∴ m effictive= = =0.063 kg
3 3

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4) In eqn-5 F S =mg , why didn’t we equate the spring force FS with the total weight of
the system Mg?

At the static equilibrium position: F s=kδ=Mg

When discs masses are added: ( M +md ) g−k ( Δ x +δ static ) =0 Mg cancels out wit h kδ ⇒ md g−k Δ x=0

5) In determining the stiffness of the spring using the deflection curve of Figure-7.3, what
is the essential implicit assumption that has been made? How could you ensure that
you did not violate it in the experiment using your graph?

The relation between the spring force and the spring deflection was assumed Linear. This
means that the spring's behavior follows Hooke's Law of simple harmonic motion. This
linearization was taken in consideration in the deflection curve in this experiment so it is still
valid.

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IX- Applications:
Most common application of the mass-spring system is found in our cars. the mass-spring
system in a car helps absorb bumps in the road. The springs must be designed to osculate at the
right frequency and with the right amplitude. Controlling the amplitude, or how much the
spring moves, can change the ride of the car tremendously.