University of Sheffield Department of Mechanical Engineering

MEC 308: Vibrations and Acoustics TUTORIAL 2

The objective of this tutorial is to provide further examples of calculations, but also to introduce
a couple of important ideas in dynamics. The first question shows how one can simplify equations of
motion by scaling of variables. The second question introduces the idea of a type of transmissibility.

Question 1

By introducing scaled versions of the dependent and independent variables for the SDOF system,

mÿ + cẏ + ky = x(t)

show how the equation can be put in a ‘canonical’ form which only contains one physical constant.

Question 2

Figure 1 shows a very basic schematic for a vibration sensor. The essential idea is that, when
the sensor is fixed to a surface moving with a time-dependent displacement x, the internal mass will
vibrate with a displacement response y and the relative displacement z = y − x can be measured. The
measurement is usually made by making the internal mass into a magnet and placing it inside a coil
fixed relative to the casing; the voltage in the coil will then be proportional to the relative motion.
Derive the equation of motion for z in terms of the base displacement x and determine the ’FRF’
between Z(ω) and X(ω). Express the results in terms of the physical constants and in terms of the
damping ratio and natural frequency. Comment on the results.

y k

m
x
c

Figure 1: Schematic for vibration sensor.

1
Solution 1

We start with the standard SDOF equation of motion,

mÿ + cẏ + ky = x(t)

We observe that we can rescale the two dependent variables x and y and the independent variable
t,

u = αy, p = βx, τ = γt

Now, one observes that,

d 1 d
=
dτ γ dt
If one uses dashes to denote differentiation with respect to τ , substituting in all the scaled variables
leads to,

mγ 2 ′′ cγ ′ k 1
u + u + u= p
α α α β
The first constant is easy to remove, one simply sets β = 1, and then,

mγ 2 ′′ cγ ′ k
u + u + u=p
α α α
The next constant is removed by setting α = k, so that,

mγ 2 ′′ cγ ′
u + u +u=p
k k
√
Finally, we can remove the ‘inertia’ constant by setting γ = k/m = ωn ,
cωn ′
u′′ + u +u=p
k
√
cωn c k √c
Now, note that k
= k m
= km
= 2ζ, so finally we have,

u′′ + 2ζu′ + u = p

and only the damping ratio is visible, all other quantities have been removed by the rescaling.

2
Solution 2

A fairly basic free body diagram (I’m not going to draw it), gives,

mÿ = −c(ẏ − ẋ) − k(y − x)

so, in terms of the relative displacement z = y − x, one has,

mz̈ + cż + kz = −mẍ

as the equation of motion for the process x −→ z.

The ‘FRF’ for this process is just the usual one but with Z(ω) taking the role of the output spectrum
and mω 2 X(ω) taking the role of the input spectrum. If we denote the ratio Z(ω)/X(ω), by T (ω), we
immediately see that,

mω 2
T (ω) =
−mω 2 + icω + k
Now, dividing top and bottom by k, gives,
m 2
k
ω
T (ω) =
− k ω + i kc ω
m 2
+1

A little algebra shows that c/k = 2ζ/ωn , so that, also substituting k/m = ωn2 yields,
ω2
2
ωn
T (ω) =
1− ω2
2
ωn
+ 2iζ ωωn

In terms of ‘dimensionless frequency’ n = ω/ωn , one finally has,

n2
T (ω) =
1 − n2 + 2iζn
Note that this makes sense because T is a ratio of quantities with the same dimensions and is thus
dimensionless. Just as in Question One, we have arrived at an expression of the basic physics with
only the damping appearing explicitly. Using the dimensionless frequency is the analogue of scaling the
time variable in Question One. You should explore the relationship between the two questions here.
An ’FRF’ between two response variables in a problem is often called a transmissibility. Note that the
transmissibility here is a little different as the standard definition would be for the ratio Y (ω)/X(ω)
You can consult Thompson for more details about transmissibilities and also about the subtleties
of sensor design.