03.

Mass or Inertia Elements

The mass or inertia element is assumed to be a rigid body. It can gain or lose kinetic
energy whenever the velocity of the body changes. From Newton’s second law of motion, the
product of the mass and its acceleration is equal to the force applied to the mass. Work is equal
to the force multiplied by the displacement in the direction of the force, and the work done on a
mass is stored in the form of the mass’s kinetic energy.

In most cases, we must use a mathematical model to represent the actual vibrating system, and
there are often several possible models. The scope of the analysis often determines which
mathematical model is appropriate. Once the model is chosen, the mass or inertia elements of
the system can be easily identified. For example, consider again the cantilever beam with an end
mass shown in the previous lecture and below.

For a quick and reasonably accurate analysis, the mass and damping of the beam can be
disregarded and the system can be modeled as a spring-mass system, as shown above on right.
The tip mass m represents the mass element, and the elasticity of the beam denotes the
stiffness of the spring. Next, consider a multi-story building subjected to an earthquake. Assuming
that the mass of the frame is negligible compared to the masses of the floors, the building can be
modeled as a multi-degree-of-freedom system, as shown below. The masses at the various floor
levels represent the mass elements, and the elasticities of the vertical members denote the spring
elements.
3.1 Combination of Masses
In many practical applications, several masses appear in combination. For a simple
analysis, we can replace these masses by a single equivalent mass, as indicated below.

 Translational Masses Connected by a Rigid Bar

Let the masses be attached to a rigid bar that is pivoted at one end, as shown below on left. The
equivalent mass can be assumed to be located at any point along the bar. To be specific, we
assume the location of the equivalent mass to coincide to the location of mass m1 . The velocities
of masses and can be expressed in terms of the velocity of mass by assuming small angular
displacements for the bar, as:

. l2 . . l3 . . .
x2  x1 , x3  x1 , xe  x1
l1 l1

2
By equating the kinetic energy of the three-mass system to that of the equivalent mass system,
we obtain:

. . . .
1 1 1 1
m1 x12  m2 x22  m3 x32  me xe2
2 2 2 2

. l2 . . l3 . . .
In relationship with equations x2  x1 , x3  x1 and xe  x1 , we obtain:
l1 l1

. . .
2 2
x12 x22 l 
x32 l 
me  . m1  . m2  . m3  m1   2  m2   3  m3
xe2 xe2 xe2  l1   l1 

It can be seen that the equivalent mass of a system composed of several masses - each moving
at a different velocity - can be thought of as the imaginary mass which, while moving with a
specified velocity v , will have the same kinetic energy as that of the system.

 Translational and Rotational Masses Coupled Together

.
Let a mass m having a translational velocity x be coupled to another mass of mass moment of
.
inertia J 0 having a rotational velocity  as in the rack and pinion arrangement shown below.

3
These two masses can be combined to obtain either a single equivalent translational mass me or
a single equivalent rotational mass J e as shown below.

Equivalent Translational Mass

The kinetic energy of the two masses is given by:

1 .2 1 .2
T m x  J0 
2 2

The kinetic energy of the equivalent mass can be expressed as:

.
Te  me xe2

.
.2 x.
Since x and   , the equivalence of T and Te gives:
R
2
.2 .2 . 
1 1 1 x
me x  m x  J 0 ,
2 2 2 R
 

Finally:

J0
me  m 
R2

4
Equivalent Rotational Mass

. . . .
Here e  , x  R and the equivalence of Te and T leads to:

.
1 1 . 1 .
J e  2  m 2 R2  J 0  2 ,
2 2 2
Or:

1
Je  mR 2  J 0
2

Example: Spring Constant of a Rod

Find the equivalent mass of the system shown below, where the rigid link 1 is attached to the
pulley and rotates with it.

Solution

Assuming small displacements, the equivalent mass me can be determined using the
equivalence of the kinetic energies of the two systems. When the mass m is displaced by a
x
distance x , the pulley and the rigid link 1 rotate by an angle  p  1  . This causes the rigid
rp

5
 xl1
link 2 and the cylinder to be displaced by a distance x2   p l1  . Since the cylinder rolls
rp
x2 xl1
without slippage, it rotates by an angle c   . The kinetic energy T of the system can
rc rp rc
be expressed - for small displacements - as:

, ,
1 .2 1 .
1 .
1 1 .
1
T  m x  J p  p  J1 1  m2 x2  J c  c  mc x22
2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2

The parameters J p , J1 and J c denote the mass moments of inertia of the pulley, link 1 about O
and cylinder and indicate the angular velocities of the pulley, link 1 about O and cylinder. The
. .
parameters x and x2 represent the linear velocities of the mass m and link 2, respectively.
mc rc2 m l2
Noting that Jc  and J1  1 1 the above equation can be rewritten as:
2 3

2 2 2 2 2
 .
.   2 

.
  .   2 

.
  . 
1 1 x 1 m l
   1 1  x 1 xl 1 m r
  m2  1    c c   1 xl 1
  mc  xl1 
T  m x  Jp
2

2 2  rp  2  3   rp  2  rp  2  2   rp rc  2  rp 
         

.
1
By equating it to the kinetic energy of the equivalent system T  me x 2 we obtain the
2
equivalent mass of the system as:

Jp1 m1l12 m2l12 1 mcl12 l12

me  m  2   2   mc 2
rp 3 rp2 rp 2 rp2 rp

Example: Cam-Follower Mechanism

The cam-follower mechanism shown below is used to convert the rotary motion of a shaft into the
oscillating or reciprocating motion of a valve. The follower system consists of a pushrod of mass
m p , a rocker arm of mass mr and mass moment of inertia J r about its center of gravity, a valve
of mass mv and a valve spring of negligible mass. Find the equivalent mass me of this cam-
follower system by assuming the location of me at point A.

6
Solution

The equivalent mass of the cam-follower system can be determined using the equivalence of the
kinetic energies of the two systems. Due to a vertical displacement x of the pushrod, the rocker
x
arm rotates by an angle r  about the pivot point, the valve moves downward by
l1
xl2 xl
xv   r l2  and the center of gravity of the rocker arm moves downward by xr   r l3  3 .
l1 l1
The kinetic energy T of the system can be expressed as:

. . . .
1 1 1 1
T m p x 2p  mv xv2  J r  r2  mr xr2
2 2 2 2

. . .
The parameters x p , xr and xv are the linear velocities of the pushrod, center of gravity of the
.
rocker arm, and the valve and r is the angular velocity of the rocker arm. If me denotes the

7
 . .
equivalent mass placed at point A, with xe  x , the kinetic energy of the equivalent mass system
Te is given by:

.
1
Te  me xe2
2
. . . . l2 . . l . . 1
By equating T and Te and noting that x p  x , xv  x , xr  x 3 and  r  x we obtain:
l1 l1 l1

Jr l22 l32
me  m p  2  mv 2  mr 2
l1 l1 l1

Summary
In this lecture we continued discussing fundamental concepts in mechanical vibrations, including:

 Mass or inertia elements

 Combination of masses and inertial elements

References
 Rao, S. – Mechanical Vibrations, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, New York, 2011
 Gans, R.- Mechanical Systems - A Unified Approach to Vibrations and Controls,
Springer, 2015
 Thomson, W., Dahleh, M. - Theory of Vibrations with Applications, 5th Edition, Prentice
Hall, 1998