Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University

College of Engineering - Department of Mechanical Engineering

Lecture notes

Course title: Mechanical Vibrations

Course code: MEEN 3395
Credit hours: 3
Semester: Spring 2022
Instructor name: Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily

Lecture 1 - Introduction to mechanical vibrations

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 1
Course Content
No List of Lecture Files
1 Introduction to mechanical vibrations
2 Single degree of freedom systems
3 Torsional vibration systems
4 Damped vibrations (Viscous damping)
5 Forced vibration (Transient and steady state vibration response)
6 Two degrees of freedom systems
7 Multi-degree of freedom systems and continuous system
8 Vibration isolation and absorption
9 An introduction to modal analysis
10 An introduction to vibration measurements
11 An introduction to Vibration-based condition monitoring

Course Textbooks
Mechanical Vibrations 6th Edition, by Singiresu Rao,
ISBN-13: 978-0134361307

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 2
Introduction to Mechanical Vibration
Mechanical vibration is involved in different life applications, and can have good or bad effects.
Examples of different daily applications using vibration

(Image: ©frontiersin.org)

(Image: © en.wikipedia.org) (Image: ©123rf.com) (Image: ©alibaba.com) (Image: © utwente.nl)

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 3
Introduction to Mechanical Vibration
Examples of the mechanical vibration impact on the condition of different structures or machine
elements

(Image: ©mobiusinstitute.com)

(Image: ©goo-net-exchange.com)

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 4
Introduction to Mechanical Vibration

(Image: © ubuy.com.sa)

(Image: © which.co.uk) (Image: © sxc.hu)

(Image: © kajima.co.jp)

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 5
Consequences of vibration:
• Accelerated wear rate of machine components (e.g. gears, bearings, couplings, etc.)
• Failure of machine components due to fatigue.
• Looseness of fasteners which can cause catastrophic failure in machines.
• Shaft misalignment or runout.
• Excessive noise and discomfortability.
• Higher power consumption.
• Resonance and instability.
Causes of vibration:
• Unbalance.
• Shaft misalignment or runout.
• Looseness.
• Existence of faults (e.g. cracks, wear, pitting, etc.)

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 6
Oscillatory Motion
To understand the oscillatory motion the following definitions are important.

Periodic motion:
Repeated motion in a certain intervals of time. The periodic motion is not
necessarily be oscillatory, e.g. circular motion is a periodic motion, but it is
not oscillatory.

Oscillatory or vibratory motion: (Image: © physics.stackexchange.com)

Repeated motion in a certain intervals of time around a certain equilibrium

position, e.g. a mass on a spring or pendulum. If the oscillation is repeated
after equal intervals it will be periodic. In general, when the frequency is low,
we call it ‘oscillation’ and when the frequency is high, we call it ‘vibration’.

Simple harmonic motion:

It is the simplest type of oscillatory motion. This motion takes place when the
restoring force acting on the system is directly proportional to its displacement (Image: © saburchill.com)
from its equilibrium position.
Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 7
 Oscillatory motion
Periodic motion

(Image: © qsstudy.com)

(Image: © ck12.org) (Image: © ardesto.com.ua)

(Image: © courses.lumenlearning.com)
Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 8
 Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

𝑦 = 𝐴 sin 𝜃 = 𝐴 sin 𝜔 𝑡
𝑑𝑦
= 𝜔 𝐴 cos 𝜔 𝑡
𝑑𝑡
𝑑2𝑦 2 𝐴 sin 𝜔 𝑡 = −𝜔2 𝑦
= −𝜔
𝑑𝑡 2

(Image: © http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu)

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 9
Elements of Mechanical Vibration System

Mass Spring Damper

Notation m (mass, kg) k (spring constant C (Damping
or stiffness, N/m) coefficient, N.s/m)

Function Moving element Restoring element Energy dissipating

element

Force Inertia force Spring force Damping force

𝐹 = 𝑚 𝑎 = 𝑚𝑥ሷ 𝐹=𝑘𝑥 F= C v = C 𝑥ሶ
Energy Kinetic energy Potential energy Dissipated energy
1 1 1 1
K.E.= 𝑚 𝑣 2 = 𝑚 𝑥ሶ 2 P.E.= 𝑘 𝑥2 = D.E.= 𝐶 𝑥ሶ 2
2 2 2 2
P. E. = 𝑚 𝑔 ℎ

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 10
SI Unit system is followed
Mass, kg
Force or weight, N
Time, sec
Length, m
Area, 𝑚2
Volume, , 𝑚3
Torque or moment, N.m
Stress or pressure, Pa (N/ 𝑚2 )
Mass density, kg/ 𝑚3
11
Degrees of Freedom DOF
DOF can be defined as the minimum number of independent coordinates required to determine
completely the positions of all parts of a system at any instant of time

1 DOF 3 DOF
An infinite DOF,
continuous system

2 DOF

2 DOF

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 12
Classification of Vibration Problems
• 1 DOF, 2 DOF, or multi degrees of freedom (MDOF).
If the generated vibration in one direction it can be modelled as 1DOF, and it can be called also single
degree of freedom (SDOF). If vibration in different directions then it should be modlelled by a
number of degrees of freedom equals to the independent vibration directions we aim to model.
• Undamped or damped vibration.
When a certain amount of energy is lost or dissipated due to friction or damping effect we call it
‘damped vibration’, otherwise if no significant energy is lost we call it ’undamped vibration’.
• Free or forced vibrartion.
When the system is subjected to an external force we call it ‘forced vibration’, otherwise if the system
is just excited by an initial disturbance (displacement, velocity or force) and released to vibrate at one
or more of its natural frequencies, then we call it ‘free vibration’.
• Deterministic or random vibration
If the value of the excitation (force or motion) acting on a vibratory system is known at any given
time, the excitation is called deterministic. The resulting vibration is known as deterministic vibration.
Otherwise, if the excitation is nondeterministic the resulting vibration will be random vibration.
Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 13
 Deterministic or random
vibration

Natural Frequencies 𝜔𝑛 , fn
It is also known as Eigen-frequency, and can be
defined as the frequency at which a system tends to
oscillate in the absence of any driving or damping
force. The motion pattern of a system oscillating at
its natural frequency is called the normal mode.

.
Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University . 14
Natural Frequencies 𝜔𝑛 , fn

Different mode shapes of cantilever beam

Natural Frequency Vibration in Cantilever beams.mp4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_JSNxNXEjo

Dr. Omar Dawood Mohammed Al-Sily- Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University 15