Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

STRUCTURES LABARATORY
EXPERIMENT 4

DAMPING FACTOR OF CANTILEVER BEAM

Done by
Thuniki Shrenith Suhas
(23AE60R01)

Under the guidance of

Prof. Mira Mitra
 Damping Factor of Cantilever Beam

Aim:

To determine the damping factor of an oscillating cantilever beam.

Apparatus Required:

a) Mild Steel Cantilever Beam

b) Electrodynamic Shaker
c) Charge Amplifier
d) Voltmeter
e) Oscilloscope
f) Accelerometer
g) Stroboscope

Figure 2: Experimental Set-Up

Theory:

Damping Factor:
Damping is an effect that causes a reduction in the amplitude of a vibrating system over
time
due to energy being drained from the system to overcome friction or other resistive
forces.
The damping in any system can be due to friction between two dry surfaces (Coulombic
Damping) or due to viscous effect, which is comparatively lower.
The equilibrium equation of a system is given as,

The equation for a damped system is given by,

Comparing the two equations, the Damping Factor is given by,

Under damped System:

For an under damped system, ζ < 1
The equation of motion is given by,

Where, x = displacement, A = Amplitude, ωd = damped frequency and is given by,

Hence, the amplitude of under damped vibrations decreases with time,

At t = 0,

At t = Td

The decrement ratio DR is given by,

The Logarithmic Decrement is given by,

Since ζ is very small, ζ 2 can be ignored. Also, if ‘n’ is number of crests in between,
𝛿𝑛 = 2𝜋𝑛𝜁
Procedure:

1. The various apparatus's connected in accordance with the schematic diagram shown
in Figure
2. The exciting force for the oscillation of the cantilever beam is provided manually. The
corresponding output waveform for the oscillations can be observed in the oscilloscope.
3. Using the controls of the oscilloscope the voltage values for two distinctly visible
crests (say ‘V1’ and ‘V2’) and the corresponding time difference between the crests are
determined.
4. The number of crests between V1 and V2 are also determined from the waveform.
5. The above procedure is then repeated, and the average of the damping factors
obtained is determined.

Observations:

The dimensions of the cantilever beam are determined to be,

L = 29 𝑐𝑚 𝑏 = 24.68 𝑚𝑚 ℎ = 1.21 𝑚𝑚
Change in time No. of peaks
Crest 1 Crest 2 Damping
between crests between
(V1) (mV) (V2) (mV) Factor (ζ)
(s) crests
1337 587.5 3.91 37 0.0035371
915.6 650 1.552 15 0.0036351
1650 1056 1.44 14 0.0050734

Average Damping Factor = 0.0040818

Calculations:

Conclusion:
The damping factor of the cantilever beam is determined to be 0.40818%.