MEC330 Vibrations Modelling Lab CV2

Aim
Compare experimentally and theoretically obtained vibration properties of a ring.
Points to note
Make sure that you have the text files containing vibration measurements made on the ring. If
your results are incomplete, you are advised to download and work with those given in the
Hammer test results zipfile on MOLE. Download the zipped files called Matlab functions and
FE results and unpack locally.
Experimental results are in the form of time records of voltage signals generated by the
accelerometer and the force sensor in the hammer. To load experimental data into the Matlab
workspace, use the function load_ringtest (look at the first set of comments in this file to
understand how to use it). This function applies the correct transducer sensitivities, loads the
measured time data and also calculates the frequency spectra. Using different output variable
names for different measurements will make plotting easier.
Task 1: Investigate experimentally applied forcing
Load results for hard and soft tips at one location. Produce one plot comparing the time domain
force signals achieved using the two tips (limit the time between 0 and 10 ms). Produce also, a
plot comparing the frequency spectra (up to 1000 Hz).
For a half-sine shock input, the cutoff frequency (e
c
in Hz) can be obtained from the impulse
duration t
s
using,
s
c
t
5 . 1
= e
Compare this with your results and comment on differences.
Task 2: Reciprocity
As the equation for the FRF of a linear system between two points can be written as,
( )
n n n n
q p
N
n
pq
r j r k
H
,
| |
2 1
2
1
+
=

=

it can be concluded that excitation and measurement points can be exchanged without altering
the FRF. Generate a plot showing two FRFs measured when the hammer and accelerometer
positions were exchanged. Comment on whether the experiment follows expected behaviour.
Task 3: Identification of modal properties
Modal properties including natural frequency, damping and mode shape can be extracted from
FRFs. In this lab session, mode extraction will be carried out using the function
modal_analysis. Look at the first set of comments in this file to understand how to use it.
To prepare the data for mode identification, first get the FRFs into the correct format. This
needs a column vector of frequencies called whz and a matrix called H of FRFs for each of the 12
points in order. As the frequency is always the same, the looping commands
for n=1:12, [t,f,a,whz,F,X,H(:,n)] = load_ringtest;, end
will help load the data quickly. The variables whz and H should be saved as a matlab datafile
called frf_data.
Run the function modal_analysis. As instructed, identify resonances of interest and press the
ENTER key when finished. Results will be saved to the file modal_analysis_output_data. The
quality of the fit can be obtained by comparing the original FRF with one synthesized from modal
properties. Note that the synthesized result ignores the effect of rigid body modes.
Note that an exponential window has been applied to the accelerometer trace to make the
signal drop to zero by the end of the frame
1
. This adds damping according to the equation:
max
t
s
w
w
e
, =

where in this case, the window scale
factor s
w
= 5. The added damping is
given in the figure opposite.
Compare the damping levels
identified by the program with those
added artificially by the window.
What can you say about the true
damping levels in the ring? Is there a
better way to measure this?

Task 4: Comparison of theoretical and experimental results
Detailed information relating to the FE analysis of the ring is given in a separate document. The
required FE data can be obtained from ring_FEdata_reduced.
Construct tables to compare natural frequencies for in-plane and out-of-plane flexure modes
for experiment, FE and theory (session CV1). The function plot_ringmode can be used to
visualise mode shapes.
The Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) can be used to obtain a numerical value for similarity
between mode shapes and is defined as,
q
T
q p
T
p
q
T
p
pq
MAC
| | | |
| |
2
=
Use the function mac to generate a MAC plot to compare predicted and measured mode shapes
and consider the significance.
Mode shapes are orthogonal and the MAC between different modes should be zero if
completely defined. If only a few measurement points are used, aliasing can occur. The Auto-
MAC (comparing a set of mode shapes against itself) helps identify possible aliasing. Obtain
Auto-MAC plots for the FE results for 12, 36 and 1080 points and comment on the predicted vs
measured MAC plot produced earlier.


1
This is necessary in order to get meaningful output from the Fourier Transform used in calculating FRFs