11 VibrationAnalysis

11.1 Introduction
Aspringandamassinteractwithoneanothertoformasystemthatresonatesattheircharacteristicnatural
frequency.Ifenergyisappliedtoaspringmasssystem,itwillvibrateatitsnaturalfrequency.Thelevelofa
generalvibrationdependsonthestrengthoftheenergysourceaswellasthedampinginherentinthesystem.
Considerthesingledegreeoffreedom(DOF)systeminFigure111thatisusuallyintroducedinafirstcoursein
physicsorordinarydifferentialequations.There,kisthespringconstant,orstiffness,andmisthemass,andc
isaviscousdamper.Ifthesystemissubjectedtoahorizontalforce,sayf(t),thenNewtonslawofmotion
leadstothedifferentialequationofmotionintermsofthedisplacementasafunctionoftime,x(t):
md2x/dt2+cdx/dt+kx(t)=f(t)
whichrequirestheinitialconditionsonthedisplacement,x(0),andvelocity,v(0)=dx/dt(0).Whenthereisno
externalforceandnodamping,thenitiscalledfree,undampedmotion,orsimpleharmonicmotion(SHM):
md2x/dt2+kx(t)=0.
Theusualsimpleharmonicmotionassumptionisx(t)=asin(t)whereaistheamplitudeofmotionandis
thecircularfrequencyofthemotion.Thenthemotionisdescribedby
[k2m]asin(t)=0,or[k2m]=0.
Theaboveequationrepresentsthesimplesteigenanalysisproblem.Thereyouwishtosolveforthe
eigenvalue, ,andtheeigenvector,a.Notethattheamplitude,a,oftheeigenvectorisnotknown.Itis
commontoscaletheeigenvectortomakethelargestamplitudeunity.Theabovescalarproblemiseasily
solvedforthecircularfrequency(eigenvalue),
,

whichisrelatedtothesocallednaturalfrequency,Fn,byFn=/2.

Figure111Aspringmassdampersingledegreeoffreedomsystem

Fromthis,itisseenthatifthestiffnessincreases,thenaturalfrequencyalsoincreases,andifthemass
increases,thenaturalfrequencydecreases.Ifthesystemhasdamping,whichallphysicalsystemsdo,its
frequencyofresponseisalittlelower,anddependsontheamountofdamping.Numeroustabulatedsolutions
fornaturalfrequenciesandmodeshapecanbefoundin[3].Theycanbeusefulinvalidatingfiniteelement
calculations.
Notethattheabovesimplificationneglectedthemassofboththespringandthedampener.Anyphysical
structurevibrationcanbemodeledbysprings(stiffnesses),masses,anddampers.Inelementarymodelsyou
uselinespringsanddampers,andpointmasses.Itistypicaltorefertosuchasystemasalumpedmass
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system.Foracontinuouspart,bothitsstiffnessandmassareassociatedwiththesamevolume.Inother
words,agivenvolumeisgoingtohaveastrainenergyassociatedwithitsstiffnessandakineticenergy
associatedwithitsmass.Acontinuousparthasmassandstiffnessmatricesthatareofthesamesize(havethe
samenumberofDOF).Themasscontributionsthereforeinteractandcannotnaturallybelumpedtoasingle
valueatapoint.Therearenumericalalgorithmstoaccomplishsuchalumped(ordiagonal)massmatrixbutit
doesnotariseintheconsistentfiniteelementformulation.

11.2 Finiteelementvibrationstudies
Infiniteelementmodels,thecontinuousnatureofthestiffnessandmassleadstotheuseofsquarematrices
forstiffness,mass,anddamping.Theycanstillcontainspecialcasesoflineelementspringsanddampers,as
wellaspointmasses.Dampersdissipateenergy,butspringsandmassesdonot.
IfyouhaveafiniteelementsystemwithmanyDOFthentheabovesingleDOFsystemgeneralizestoa
displacementvector,X(t)interactingwithasquaremassmatrix,M,stiffnessmatrix,K,dampingmatrixC,and
externallyappliedforcevector,F(t),butretainsthesamegeneralform:
Md2X/dt2+CdX/dt+KX(t)=F(t)
plustheinitialconditionsonthedisplacement,X(0),andvelocity,v(0)=dX/dt(0).Integratingtheseequations
intimegivesatimehistorysolution.Thesolutionconceptsarebasicallythesame,theyjusthavetobedone
usingmatrixalgebra.ThecorrespondingSHM,orfreevibrationmode(C=0,F=0)forafiniteelementsystem
is
Md2X/dt2+KX(t)=0.
TheSHMassumptiongeneralizestoX(t)=Asin(t)wheretheamplitude,A,isusuallycalledthemodeshape
vectoratcircularfrequency.Thisleadstothegeneralmatrixeigenvalueproblem
|K2M|=0.
Thereisafrequency,sayk,andmodeshapevector,Ak,foreachdegreeoffreedom,k.Amatrixeigenvalue
eigenvectorsolutionismuchmorecomputationallyexpensivethatamatrixtimehistorysolution.Therefore
mostfiniteelementsystemsusuallysolveforthefirstfewnaturalfrequencies.Dependingontheavailable
computerpower,thatmaymean10to100frequencies.SWSimulationincludesnaturalfrequencyandmode
shapecalculationsaswellastimehistorysolutions.
Usuallyyouareinterestedonlyinthefirstfewnaturalfrequencies.InSWSimulation,thedefaultnumberof
frequenciestobedeterminedisfive(thatnumberiscontrolledviaStudyPropertiesOptionsNumberof
frequencies).Azeronatural(orslightlynegativeone)frequencycorrespondstoarigidbodymotion.Apartor
assemblyhasatmostsixRBMofvibration,dependingonhoworifitissupported.Ifashellmodelisusedthe
rotationalDOFexistandthemassmatrixisgeneralizedtoincludethemassmomentsofinertia.Forevery
naturalfrequencythereisacorrespondingvibrationmodeshape.Mostmodeshapescangenerallybe
describedasbeinganaxialmode,torsionalmode,bendingmode,orgeneralmode
Likestressanalysismodels,probablythemostchallengingpartofgettingaccuratefiniteelementnatural
frequenciesandmodeshapesistogetthetypeandlocationsoftherestraintscorrect.Acrudemeshwillgive
accuratefrequencyvalues,butnotaccuratestressvalues.TheTKSolvercasesolversoftwarecontains
equationsformostknownanalyticsolutionsforthefrequenciesofmechanicalsystems.Theycanbequite
usefulinvalidatingthefiniteelementfrequencyresults.
Insection3.3,thestiffnessmatrixforalinearaxialbarwasgiven.Itisrepeatedherealongwithitsconsistent
massmatrix:
1
1

1
,
1

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2
1

1
,m=AL.
2
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Ifyouutilizeaquadratic(threenode)lineelementthecorrespondingelementmatricesare
7
8
1

8
16
8

1
8 ,
7

4
2
1

2
16
2

1
2 .
4

11.3 Analyticsolutionsforfrequencies
TheanalyticfrequencyandmodeshapesolutionsformanycommongeometriesarefoundInacourseonthe
vibrationofcontinuousmedia.Thegeometriesincludeaxialbars,axialshaftsintorsion,beamswith
transversemotionvibration,flatplatesofvariousshapes,andthinshellsofvariousshapes.Severalexamples
ofthemaregiveninthevalidationproblemssetofexamplespresentedalongsidethesoftwaretutorials.of
Considerthelongitudinalvibrationofabar.Theresultsdependonwhichtypeofsupportisappliedtoeach
endofthebar.Foroneendrestrainedandtheotherendfreethenaturalfrequenciesare
,c=

,n=1,2,3,.

However,ifbothendsarerestrainedtheyare
,c=

,n=1,2,3,.

Thisshowsthatforacontinuousbodythereare,intheory,aninfinitenumberofnaturalfrequenciesandmode
shapes.Tryasinglequadraticelementtomodelafixedfixedbarfrequency.RestrainthetwoendDOF(the
firstandthirdrowandcolumn)oftheabove3by3matrices.OnlyasingleDOFremainstoapproximatethe
firstmode.Solvetherestrainedmatrixeigenproblem: k
m | 0.Thereducedtermsinthematrices
are
3
so

and

10

AL
16
30

16

3.16 whichislessthat1%errorcomparedtotheexactresult.Addingmore

elementsincreasestheaccuracyofeachfrequencyestimate,andalsoyieldsestimatesofthefrequencies
associatedwiththeadditionalDOF.Forexample,addingasecondquadraticbarelementgivesatotalofthree
unrestrainedDOF.Soyoucouldsolveforthefirstthreefrequencies.Thevaluefor wouldbemore
accurateandyouwouldhavethefirstestimatesof and .
Usually,themassesfarthestfromthesupportshavethemosteffectsonthenaturalfrequencycalculations.If
youonlycareaboutthefrequenciesyoucouldusesplitlinestobuildlargerelementsnearthesupports.For
beamsandshells,thetransversedisplacementsaremoreimportantthanthetangentialrotationalDOF.

11.4 Frequenciesofacurvedsolid
Toillustrateatypicalnaturalfrequencyproblemconsiderabrass,75degreesegmentofanannulussolid
havingathicknessof0.3m,anaverageradiusof1.5m,andawidthof1m.Thecomponentisencastred
(fixed)atonerectangularface.Thethicknesstowidthratiois0.3.Thatsuggeststhatthestudyshouldbe
conductedwitheitherasolidmodelorathickshellmodel.Bothtypesofelementswillbeusedtoindicatethe
rangeofuncertainty.
Thereisnosimpleanalyticestimatetovalidatethestudyofathickcurvedbody.However,thereisasimple
cantileverbeamfrequencyestimatethatcangiveanestimateofthefrequencies.Thefirstfrequencyofsucha
thinbeamis
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1.732

1.732

12

J.E.Akin

Here,theeffectlength,L,mustbeestimated.Ifyoutaketheouterarclengthasthatlength,theestimateis
48.4 .Usingthecenterlinearcgives92.3Hz.
Generally,thedisplacementdegreesoffreedomaremoreimportantingettingnaturalfrequenciesandmode
shapesthanarerotationalDOF.Therefore,thesolidstudyisprobablybesthere.Invibrationproblems,the
materiallocatedfarthestfromthesupportsaremoreimportant.Youshouldusemeshcontroltocreatesmall
elementsinsuchregions.Themodelingprocessis:
1. Sketchanddimensionthearea.Extrudeittoathicknessof0.3m.

2. Clickonacurvedface,InsertSketch.
3. Addalineandarcnearthefreeedgesfarthestfromthesupport,forlatermeshcontrol.
4. InsertCurveSplitLine

11.4.1 SWSimulationfrequencystudies
11.4.1.1 SWSimulationManager
SelectingtheSWSimulationManager(CWManager)icon:
4. RightclickonthetopnametoaccessStudywhichopenstheStudypanel.
5. AssignaStudyname,chooseFrequencyfortheAnalysistype.
6. DefinetheMeshtypetobesolid,clickOK.
11.4.1.2 Definethematerial
AtthispointSolidswillappearintheCWManagermenu:
1. Rightclickonittoapplymaterialdata.Thecomponentistobemadeofbrass.
2. PickApplyMaterialtoAllMaterialpanelFromlibraryfilesbuttonCopperAlloysandselect
brass,settheUnitstoMKS.

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11.4.1.3 Meshing
Specifyafinermeshawayfromthesupport,andacrudemeshnearthesupport:
1. MeshMeshControl,selectsmallouterfaces,setsizeto0.06m.

2. MeshMeshControl,selectotherfaces,setsizeto0.3m.
3. MeshCreateMesh

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11.4.1.4 Restrainthesystem
4. SelectFixturesImmovableandpickthesupportrectangles.ClickOK.Run.

11.4.1.5 Postprocessthefrequenciesandmodeshapes
TheRunPropertiesweresettocomputefivemodesandfrequencies,butonlythefirstthreeare
summarizedhere.SelectResultsanddisplayeachmodeinturn.Changeviewsforbetterunderstandingasin
Figure112.Modeoneislikethatofacantileverbeam,withtheouteredgemovingperpendiculartothe
originalplane.Modetwoisavibrationintheoriginalplane.Modethreeseemstobemainlyatwisting
vibration.Thefrequenciesareshowninthefiguretext.YoucanalsohaveSWSimulationlistthem.Thefirst
threemodesarealsogiveninTable111,alongwiththecorrespondingvaluesfromathickshellmodel
presentedbelow.Thereisabouta10%differenceinthecomputedfrequencies.

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Figure112Firstthreesolidstudiesmodesandfrequencies

Table111Naturalfrequencies(Hz)fromsolidsandthickshells

Model

Mode1

Mode2

Mode3

Solid

52

142

169

Thickshell

46

126

155

Thinbeam

48.4

11.4.2 Thickshellversion
Theabovestudywasrepeatedwithathickshellandthesamemeshcontrols.SomeresultsareinFigure113

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Figure113Firsttwothickshellfrequencies

11.5 Influencingthenaturalfrequency
IfyouwishtoinfluencethenaturalfrequencyyoucanautomatetheprocessbyemployingtheSWSimulation
optimizationabilitytovarythepartgeometricdesignparameters.Youcanalsogetafeelforthecontrolling
factorsbynotingthefactthatthenaturalfrequencies(inHz)ofplatescangenerallybeexpressedas

where isthenaturalfrequencyincyclespersecond, istheelasticmodulus,isPoissonsratio,isthe

massdensity,histhe(thin)platethickness, isacharacteristiclengthoftheplate.Theremainingfactor, ,is
dependentonthesupportconditionsandgeometricshapeoftheplate.Itisoftenatabulatedfeaturein
standardhandbookslike[3,11].Usually,thethicknessandlengtharetheeasiestfeaturestochange.The
quantityinsquarebracketsreducesto[EI/]forastraightbeam.

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