MECH 315 – Mechanical vibrations

Assignment #4
Due online before midnight on Monday October 2, 2023
Problem 1: Vibration isolation

A machine with mass of 90 kg is mounted on viscously damped mounts. The static deflection under the
weight of the machine is 2 cm. A free vibration test indicates that the amplitude of free vibrations after
four complete cycles is reduced to 0.67 % of its initial value. As you slowly ramp up the frequency of
the simple harmonic excitation force, F0, you notice that the machine starts “jumping,” i.e. lose contact
with the floor, from a frequency of 2.8 Hz.
a) Calculate the damping ratio and the natural frequency of the system;
b) Determine the range of frequencies over which the force transmitted is lower than 20% that of
the original excitation;
c) Calculate the magnitude of the maximum force transmitted.

Problem 2: Vibration isolation

A delicate instrument with a mass of 40 kg must be mounted in an airplane. The instrument is exposed
to simple harmonic vibrations with a fundamental frequency varying between 50 and 300 Hz. We wish
to isolate the instrument in such a way that the transmissibility never exceeds 0.1 over the operating
range, and the amplification at resonance never exceeds 4.5. If the instrument is to be supported by four
(4) identical supports, determine the required range of stiffness and damping ratios of each support.
Problem 3: Seismic sensors
A seismic sensor has a natural frequency of 5 Hz and is built with a damping ratio of 0.6. Determine
frequency range in which we can use this sensor to measure the displacement with an amplitude error
not exceeding ± 2%. What will be the maximum phase distortion of the device (in degrees)?
Problem 4: Accelerometers
An accelerometer (acceleration sensor) is composed of a mass weighing 0.0386 lb suspended to a spring
of stiffness k = 250 lb/in. The damping ratio of the device can be adjusted to meet the standards of the
user required damping ratio. If we want to optimize the system to obtain the largest possible range of
operation frequency with a maximum acceleration of error of ± 3%, determine:
a) The damping ratio required;
b) The corresponding operating frequency range.

MECH 315 – HW4 - 2023 September 26, 2023 1|Page