Michael Perry, Ryan McNeilly

MET 462

04/30/20

Natural Frequencies of Structural Springs

For this lab, the main objective is to find the natural frequency of a structural
spring. A secondary objective is to find the response from different loading conditions in
the spring. In the running of this lab, 2 materials of beam; Aluminum and Steel, 4 beams
with each having its own unique geometry, 4 trials were run on each beam; beam with
no added mass, beam with a clip (26g), beam with a 76g weight, and beam with 126g
weight. After compiling the data for all 16 variations of the tests, plot the data and begin
recording a small 4 second interval counting out the peaks within that section. Using the
start and end times as well as the number of cycles in the 4 second interval, they can be
used to calculate the frequency of that beam. When calculating the final results of the
experiment some potential errors may have occurred. One possible error to always
consider when doing an experiment is human error. Another possible error could be the
calibration of the machines being off slightly or recording incorrect data. Some of the
numbers calculated in this experiment seem to be slightly off so it is understanding if
there was an error during the process of the lab or the calculations.
Theoretical Calculations From Smath:
Theoretical Calculations Continued:
Experiment Results with Comparisons:
No added mass:

A1 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 3.08 sec 57.70% 200% 0%
end 6.976 sec
cycles 99
frequency 25.41 Hz

D1 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 4.029 sec 2.85% 200% 0%
end 7.955 sec
cycles 65
frequency 16.55 Hz

K1 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 2.008 sec 103.60% 200% 0%
end 5.988 sec
cycles 101
frequency 25.38 Hz

V1 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 2.001 sec 48.80% 200% 0%
end 5.983 sec
cycles 65
frequency 16.32 Hz

26 g of mass added:
A1 Clip % Diff. from theoretical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.
start 2.04 sec 45.50% 146.75% 3.40%
End 5.996 sec
Cycles 104
Frequency 26.29 Hz

D1 clip % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 2.0332 sec 68.10% 101.32% 51.32%
end 5.9162 sec
cycles 38
Frequency 9.79 Hz

K1 Clip % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 2.016 sec 57.19% 172.65% 10.31%
end 5.992 sec
cycles 91
frequency 22.89 Hz

V1 Clip % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

start 2.0386 sec 2.05% 160.04% 12.15%
end 5.9828 sec
cycles 57
frequency 14.45 Hz
Experiment Results with Comparisons (continued):

76 g of mass added:

A1 Clip 50 % Diff. from theoretical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

Start 2.34 sec 17.60% 76.07% 26.21%
end 5.976 sec
Cycles 71
Frequency 19.52 Hz

D1 Clip 50 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

Start 1.135 sec 108.11% 4.37% 73.67%
end 4.933 sec
Cycles 29
Frequency 7.64 Hz

K1 Clip 50 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

Start 2.016 sec 3.14% 129.34% 28.08%
end 5.988 sec
Cycles 76
Frequency 19.13 Hz

V1 Clip 50 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.

Start 2.014 sec 63.90% 102.03% 37.04%
end 5.935 sec
Cycles 44
Frequency 11.22 Hz

126 g of mass added:

A1 clip 100 % Diff. from theoretical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.
start 2.016 sec 0.82% 29.32% 40.11%
end 5.976 sec
cycles 67
frequency 16.92 Hz

D1 clip 100 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.
start 2.0382 sec 97.50% 45.37% 90.09%
end 5.869 sec
cycles 24
frequency 6.27 Hz

K1 clip 100 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.
start 2.056 sec 11.80% 95% 39.43%
end 5.992 sec
cycles 67
Frequency 17.02 Hz

V1 clip 100 % Diff. from theorectical % Diff of mass %Diff of Beam Freq.
start 2.051 sec 49.00% 60.11% 49.35%
end 5.9032 sec
cycles 38
frequency 9.86 Hz