3/20/23, 3:05 PM Random RMS Calculator Tutorial - Online Resource - Vibration Research

Random RMS Calculator Tutorial

CALCULATORS AND TOOLS

Compute random acceleration, velocity, and displacement values from a

breakpoint table.

COMPLETE RMS CALCULATOR (EXCEL)

A random spectrum is defined as a set of frequency and amplitude breakpoints.

Consider the values on the table below:

Frequency (Hz) Amplitude

20 0.01005
80 0.04000
350 0.04000
2000 0.00704

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To compute the root mean square (RMS) from the breakpoint values, we must
calculate the area under the curve defined by the breakpoint values. At first, this
may seem simple because it can be divided into a group of squares and
triangles. However, the triangles are the result of straight lines on log-log graph
paper, not linear. We can still take advantage of the triangle shapes but need to
use a specific formula to compute the area of triangles on log-log graph paper.

The definition of a straight line on log-log graphs between two breakpoints (f1,a1)
and (f2,a2) is a power relationship, where the slope is the exponent, and the
offset is the multiplicative factor.

(1)

The slope and offset that define the straight line are computed as follows:

(2)

(3)

Given the slope and offset, we can integrate from f1 to f2 to compute the area
under the line:

(4)

However, this formula does not hold if the slope equals 1. In this case, we note
that a = offset / f, which integrates into a natural log function.

Hint: some programs such as Microsoft ExcelTM define the log() function as a
base-10 logarithm and the ln() function as the natural (base-e) logarithm. Be
sure to use the correct function in your calculation. As a test,
log(2.71828182845905) = 1.0 for a natural logarithm.

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(5)

We can use Equations (4) or (5) to calculate the area under the curve for each
pair of breakpoints. The total area is the sum of the individual area calculations
between each breakpoint pair and is the mean-square acceleration. The square
root of the result equates to the RMS acceleration level. If we use the example
breakpoints, the sum is computed as follows:

Frequency Amplitude (G2/Hz) Slope Offset Area (G2)

(Hz)
20 0.01005
80 0.04000 0.9964 0.000508 1.50
350 0.04000 0 0.04000 10.80
2000 0.00704 -0.9967 13.73 24.47
Total 36.77
G2

The sum of the area values equates to a mean-square acceleration of 36.77 G2.
The square root of this value gives an overall RMS value of 6.064 G RMS. The
acceleration units are the square root of the acceleration density units. For a
density unit of (m/s2)2/Hz, the result will have a unit of m/s2. For a density unit of
m2/s3 (a reduced form of (m/s2)2/Hz), the result will have a unit of m/s2.

WHAT ABOUT VELOCITY?

The RMS velocity can be computed the same as acceleration; however, the
breakpoint values must be converted from units of acceleration-squared/Hz to
velocity-squared/Hz with appropriate unit conversion if required. This conversion
is performed with Equation (6), which defines the relationship between velocity
and acceleration for a sine wave of a given frequency.

(6)

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As a result, the equation in velocity density for the lines connecting the
breakpoints becomes:

(7)

This can be integrated from f1 to f2 to equate the area under the velocity line.

(8)

When slope = 1, we must use a natural log function.

(9)

Then, we can sum the areas to calculate the mean-square velocity, and take the
square root of the value to get RMS velocity for the random spectrum. When
using acceleration unit G, we must also apply a conversion factor to get a
suitable velocity unit. Common conversions are G to inches/s2 or m/s2.

(10)

Using the previous example, the RMS velocity is computed as follows:

Frequency Amplitude (G2/Hz) Slope Offset Area ((G

(Hz) s)2)
20 0.01005
80 0.04000 0.9964 0.000508 1.760e-5
350 0.04000 0 0.04000 0.977e-5
2000 0.00704 -0.9967 13.73 0.141e-5
Total
2.878e-5

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Applying the unit conversion, we get:

WHAT ABOUT DISPLACEMENT?

The RMS displacement can also be computed the same as acceleration;

however, the breakpoint numbers must be converted from units of acceleration-
squared/Hz to displacement-squared/Hz with appropriate unit conversion if
required. This conversion is performed with Equation (11), which defines the
relationship between acceleration and displacement for a sine wave of a given
frequency.

(11)

As a result, the equation for the lines connecting the breakpoints in

displacement density becomes:

(12)

Now, we can integrate this from f1 to f2 to get the area under the displacement
line.

(13)

When slope = 3, we need to use a natural log function:

(14)

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Then, we can sum the areas to get the mean-square displacement and take the
square root of the value to get RMS displacement for the random spectrum.
When using acceleration units in G, you also need to apply a conversion factor
such as Equation (10) to get a suitable displacement unit.

Using the previous example, the RMS displacement is computed as follows:

Frequency (Hz) Amplitude (G2/Hz) Slope Offset Area ((G 

 s2)2)
20 0.01005
80 0.04000 0.9964 0.000508 3.773e-10
350 0.04000 0 0.04000 0.165e-10
2000 0.00704 -0.9967 13.73 0.0015e-10
Total
3.994e-10

After applying the unit conversion, we get:

However, we are more likely to be interested in peak-to-peak displacement

rather than RMS displacement because shaker travel limits are rated as a peak-
to-peak value. The vibration is Gaussian random, so it is not possible to find an
absolute peak value. Still, we can compute an average or typical peak value. For
Gaussian random values, the average one-sided peak level is about three times
the RMS value (also called the 3-sigma level). To get double-sided displacement
—e.g., peak-to-peak displacement—this number is doubled.

The typical peak-to-peak value is computed as:

Typical peak-peak displacement = 2 · 3 · (0.0077 in RMS) = 0.046 in peak-to-peak

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It is important to understand that this value is the typical peak-to-peak

displacement value and will occur relatively frequently during the test. However,
you will also have occasional peaks at levels higher than 3·RMS. These peak
heights can only be defined in terms of probabilities. Therefore, the appropriate
question is not how high the peaks are but how often they will reach that
height.

For Gaussian random data, the amplitudes will exceed 3·RMS 0.27% of the time
and 4·RMS 0.006% of the time. There is a 0.0000002% chance that a peak will
exceed 6·RMS. This probability is small but not impossible. In practice, 30% to
50% of the headroom should be above the typical peak-to-peak displacement
value to account for the occasional higher peak levels.

WHAT ABOUT SINE-ON-RANDOM?

Sine-on-Random tests have background random vibration with one or more

sine tones overtop. The background random levels are computed the same as
standard random as described above. The sine tones add to the random in the
mean-square. We must sum all the squared values of the RMS levels, then take
the square root of the result to calculate the overall RMS value. The sine tones
are normally defined by their peak acceleration, so they must be converted from
peak to RMS. For a sine tone, this is as simple as dividing the peak value by the
square root of 2.

SINE-ON-RANDOM EXAMPLE

Using the background random as defined above and add sine tones of 1.0G peak
at 50Hz, 2.0G peak at 80Hz, and 1.5G peak at 110Hz.

Frequency (Hz) Acceleration  G Acceleration  G Squared  G2

Peak RMS
Random – 6.064 36.77
50 1.0 0.707 0.50
80 2.0 1.414 2.00
110 1.5 1.061 1.13
Total 40.40

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Velocity functions the same way. Convert the acceleration to velocity using
Equation (6), then convert the result to the appropriate velocity unit. When
summing the squared values, the units for the background random and the sine
tones should match.

Frequency (Hz) Acceleration  G Acceleration  G Velocity  G  Squared  (G 

Peak RMS  s RMS  s)2
random – – 2.878e-5
50 1.0 0.707 0.005364 0.507e-5
80 2.0 1.414 0.002251 0.792e-5
110 1.5 1.061 0.002813 0.236e-5
0.001535 Total 4.411e-
5

Applying the unit conversion, we get:

Displacement would function the same way if we were interested in RMS values.
However, to get peak displacement, the peak-to-peak sine displacement would
be 2 times the square root of 2 multiplied by the RMS displacement for the sine
tones. The RMS-to-(peak-to-peak) conversion factor for 3-sigma random peaks
(as assumed for the random background vibration) would not apply to the sine
tones.

To meet the overall peak-to-peak displacement requirements, it is better to

assume that the peaks for the sine tones and the random background could
occur at the same point in time. As such, the peak displacement values are
simply added together.

To get the overall sine-on-random peak-to-peak displacement requirement, add

the peak-to-peak displacements for the random background and each of the

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sine tones. Convert acceleration to displacement using Equation (11), then

convert the displacement units using Equation (10).

Frequency (Hz) Acceleration  (G Displacement  (G  Displacement  in

Pk)  s2 pk-pk) pk-pk
random – – 0.046
50 1.0 1.433e-5 0.006
80 2.0 0.112e-5 0.004
110 1.5 0.444e-5 0.002
Total 0.058
in peak-to-peak

COMPLETE RMS CALCULATOR (EXCEL)

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