3.

The Need for a Quantity Related to the Structure 11

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3. The Need for a Quantity Related to the Structure

In the previous section we have considered basic vibrating models and we have desribed
their dynamic characteristics in terms of their mass, compliance (alternatively stiffness) and
losses. We have also developed the system response due to an external force. Although it is
possible to develop the system response on a general form, involving the field variables, the
treatment will be rather cumbersome and the question is posed - what are the reasons for
seeking a description of the vibration? The general answer is that we would like to have the
possibility to optimise the vibrational motion in some sense. Most often this is equivalent to
minimising the vibration and some examples of such problems are:

a) to prevent unwanted sound,

b) to prevent "jamming" of sensitive equipment,
c) to prevent wear and fatigue.

To be able to treat this class of problems, we need to revisit the structural acoustic
process (see Ch.0). The first stage, generation, concerns the origin of the vibration, i.e. the
active mechanisms causing the vibration. The second stage, transmission, covers the transfer of
vibration energy from a source system to a receiving system. In turn, the source system is made
up by the active part or parts comprising the generating mechanisms and the (passive) structural
base supporting the former. The receiving system, on the other hand, should be seen as that
passive structural aggregate to which the vibrational energy is transmitted. As mentioned
previously, the transmission is governed by the dynamic characteristics at the contact point, i.e.
the characteristics seen when one looks into the source as well as those looking into the
receiver. The third stage encompasses the propagation of the vibrational energy from the point
of injection (contact point) to all other parts of the receiver system. Finally, the fourth stage
concerns the vibration due to the coupling between the structure and the ambient fluid. As a
basic rule, and irrespective of the type of problem (general optimization or specific
minimisation), we would like to introduce our control measures or modifications as close as
possible to the generating mechanism. There are, however, numerous factors involved in design
which can place restrictions upon the accessibility of the source or generating mechanisms and
we are then reduced to measures at the other stages. These modifications and control measures
can be introduced at several levels and to some extent the choice of level is an economical
matter. On the one hand, one can give a very detailed description, e.g. by means of a wave
theoretical model, but such a description easily becomes overwhelming for large or complicated
systems. Alternatively, the process can be given a more manageable description based on
power considerations, whereby the emphasis is not placed on the field variables but on the
various flows of energy between the different parts of the receiving system.
3. The Need for a Quantity Related to the Structure 12
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If we exclude the class of strength of materials problem which focuses on the behaviour
at the first few prominent natural frequencies, then we can choose the force/moment and
velocity/rotational velocity as our primary field variables. The rationale for this choice is of
course that their scalar product yields the power. Between the force at a point and the velocity
at that or another point of a structure there exists a proportionality for linear systems and this
proportionality we term the mobility of the system. Somewhat loosely, one may draw a parallel
here to the flexibility in statics. One can note that in some literature the term admittance is used
instead of mobility with the same physical meaning but since admittance commonly referes to
an electrical system, the mobility is preferred in the structural acoustic context.

In several other branches of physics, the concept of impedance is used for linear systems
and as we will see, the mechanical impedance constitutes an alternative representation of the
proportionality between the field variable's force and velocity. Again, with a parallel to statics,
the structural stiffness corresponds to mechanical impedance and in the electrical engineering
context one finds the electrical impedance. In Figure 3.1 is exemplified the electro-mechanical
analogy employing an impedance representation.

ZM = i ω M
Zc = 1/i ω c

ZU → ∞
F ~
ZR =R

Figure 3.1 An Example of an Electro-Mechanical Analog Circuit

The mechanical impedance is defined by,

F
Z = (3.1)
v

and this relation expresses how large the resistance is from the structure against the motion.
We can also write,

F = Zv (3.2)
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and on this proportionality form it is seen that the impedance can be interpreted as how big a
force is required to obtain the prescribed motion.

The impedance may seem somewhat strange since usually one would think of a force
exciting the structure which results in a motion. In many cases it is thus more reasonable to
normalise with respect to the force we have chosen ourselves and this is equivalent to invert the
impedance,

−1 v
Z = = Y (3.3)
F

As indicated by the name, the mobility constitutes a measure of how 'mobile' or pliable the
structure is.

From the discussion above one may be lead to believe that the distinction between the
two concepts, mobility and impedance, is subtle but the subtlety is rapidly removed when
several contact points (points of interest) are introduced. This is virtually always the case in
practice and, in addition, there will be several components of excitation and motion.

Let us consider the basic case with two contact points between a vibrational source and
the receiving structure as sketched in Figure 3.2. For simplicity we will also confine ourselves
to the transversal component of excitation and motion.

By means of the mobility representation we can write the velocities at the two contact
points as

v1 = Y11F1 + Y12 F2
(3.4a,b)
v2 = Y22 F2 + Y 21F1
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F1 F2

v1 v2

Figure 3.2 Source and receiver sub-systems attached at two contact points.

In a similar way we may, using the impedance representaiton, write the forces at the contact
points as

F1 = Z11v1 + Z12 v2
(3.5a,b)
F2 = Z22 v2 + Z21v1

and we have got two descriptions of the same system configuration.

In order to determine the point mobility Y11, say, we would let F2 = 0 in equation (3.4)
whereas, to determine the point impedance Z11, we must let v2 = 0 in equation (3.5) i.e., block
point 2. Practically, these are two very different things which perhaps becomes even clearer if
one thinks of the corresponding measurement situation. Theoretically it is also different since
we are introducing two entirely different boundary conditions in the two representations. For
outer points, i.e.points on the bounding surfaces of a system and where these meet an
acoustically "softer" medium, no constraint is introduced with the mobility representation in
addition to the natural boundary conditions. This is not the case with the impedance
representation where the velocity at the auxiliary point is forced to be zero whereby we create a
singularity at that point. It should be noted that such a singularity implies a rather advanced
theoretical problem. In contrast, for outer points meeting an acoustically more rigid medium,
the impedance representation is natural while the mobility representation gives rise to
singularities.

In summary it can be stated that for a single point and a single component of excitation
and motion, the two representations are equally appropriate, i.e. the mobility and the impedance
3. The Need for a Quantity Related to the Structure 15
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describe the same proportionality. In cases with several contact points and/or several
components, the two representations have their advantages and disadvantages respectively. The
advantages with the mobility representation are thus that we can theoretically as well as
practically consider the points individually when we are concerned with the dynamic point
characteristics of a subsystem and in pairs when we seek the transfer or cross-transfer
characteristics. The advantages with the impedance representation are primarily seen when we
want to work with substructuring, i.e. we know the characteristics of given subsystems and
those are to be assembled at given contact points to, finally, yield the "global" characteristics of
the built-up system. In Figure 3.3 is illustrated the routes by substructuring employing the
mobility and impedance representations respectively.

[Y1] [Y2 ] [Y1] [Y2 ]

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
[Y1]−1 [Y2 ]−1 [Y1]−1 [Y2 ]−1
↓ ↓
[Z1] [Z 2 ]

[Y1]−1 + [Y2 ]−1

[Z1 ]+ [Z 2] ↓
↓
([Y ]
1
−1
+ [Y2 ] )
−1 − 1

[Ztot ]
↓
[Ytot ]

Figure 3.3 Substructuring approach employing

(a) impedance, and (b) mobility representation