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VibrationAnalysis,forDesigners|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

VibrationAnalysis,forDesigners
FEAboostsCADbeyondstaticanalysis
LeslieGordon|MachineDesign
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Sep24,2009
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Thelastfewyearshaveshownprogressinfiniteelementanalysisintendedforusebydesignengineers.
ManyprogramsthatworkwithCADprovideseveraldifferenttypesofanalysis,andtherangeof
capabilitieskeepsgrowing.Thenewtoolsencouragedesignengineerstomovepastubiquitousstatic
analysisandintotherealmofanalysesthatmoreaccuratelymodelproductbehavior.Vibrationanalysis,
oftencalleddynamicanalysis,isoneareawhereFEAtechnologyisonthemove.
Authoredby:
PaulM.Kurowski
TomP.Kurowski
DesignGeneratorInc.
London,Ontario,Canada
EditedbyLeslieGordon
leslie.gordon@penton.com
Resources:
DesignGeneratorInc.,
www.designgenerator.com
Keypoints:
ModalanalysisinFEAsoftwarefindstheresonantfrequenciesofastructureandtheshapeofthe
structureateachfrequency.
Excitationanddampingarentconsideredinamodalanalysissothecalculateddisplacementsofa
particularcomponentcanonlybeusedinthecomparativesenseandonlyforcomparisonswithinthe
samemode.
Themodalsuperpositionmethodletsusersfindthevibrationresponsetoexcitationofacomplex
systembyanalyzingasystemwithjustafewDOF.
Vibrationanalysisstudiespertaintoelasticordeformablebodiesvibratingaboutthepositionof
equilibrium.DifferentmodulesofFEAprogramseachhandledifferentkindsofvibrationproblems.
However,avibrationanalysisinFEAalmostalwaysstartswithamodalanalysis.Modalanalysisprovides
importantresultsonitsownthatcanalsobeusedasinputsforothertypesofvibrationanalysissuchas
analyzingrandomvibration.

Modalanalysis
Alsocalledfrequencyanalysis,modalanalysisfindsthenaturalorresonantfrequenciesofastructureandthe
shapeofthestructureateachfrequency(alsocalledthemodeofvibrationortheeigenvector.)Modalanalysis
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assumesthestructurevibratesintheabsenceofanyexcitationanddamping.Vibrationtextbookscallthisstate
freeundampedvibration.

Althoughareallifestructurehasaninfinitenumberofresonantfrequencies,itstillhasdiscretemodesof
vibration.Eachmodecorrespondstothesituationwhereelasticforcescancelwithinertialforces.
Therefore,themodeofvibrationmaybeseenastheshapeofthestructurethatleadstothecancellation
betweeninertialandstiffnessforcesforagivenfrequencyofvibration.Theresultantstiffnessofthe
structurevibratinginresonanceiszero.Inreality,dampingcontrolsthestiffnessofastructurevibrating
inresonance,butdampingisnotmodeledinmodalanalysis.

Becauseexcitationanddampingarentconsideredinamodalanalysis,thecalculateddisplacementsofaparticular
componentaremeaningless.Forexampleifastraightcylindricalbarundergoesamodalanalysisanditisfound
thatoneendofthepartdisplacesupto10cm,andtheotherendofthepartdisplacesupto5cm,theactual
displacementvaluesmeannothing.ThatsbecausesomeFEAsoftwarenormalizestheresultthatis,takesthe
largestvalueofdisplacementanddivideseverydisplacementbythatvalue.Intheexample,thismeansthatone
endofthepartdisplaces1,orhasthelargestdisplacement,andtheotherendofthepartdisplaces0.5,orhalf
ofthelargestdisplacement.Theinformationisvalidinthesensethatittellshowmuchsomeareaswillmove
relativetootherareasonthesamepart.However,theinformationdoesnotrevealtheactualdisplacementvalues.

Althoughstressresultsfrommodalanalysisaremeaninglessintermsofreportedquantities,thedistributionof
stressesdoesprovidevaluableinsightintostructuralproperties.TheFEAsoftwarehighlightsareasinthefirstfew
modes(thefirstmoderepresentsthelowestnumberofcycles/sec)asbeingpredisposedtostructuralfailure
becauseitisthesemodeswherethestructuretendstomaximizethekineticenergy.Thestructuretherefore
vibratesbyhingingaboutstifflocations,leadingtohighlocaldeformationsand,consequently,inherent
structuralweaknesses.

Rigidbodymodes
Modalanalysiscanalsobeexecutedonmodelswithrigidbodyvibrationmodes(RBM).ARBMisonethatdoes
notinduceanyelasticdeformation.ThemaximumnumberofRBMsinanunsupportedmodelissixthree
translationsandthreerotations.TheFEAprogramassignsthezerofrequency(orclosetozeroduetonumerical
error)toRBMnaturalfrequencies.Anunsupported3Dmodelwillthereforeshowsixrigidbodymodeswithzero
frequencies.Ananalysisofapartiallysupportedmodelwillreturnasmanyzerofrequencymodesasthereare
RBMspresentinthemodel.Inthecaseofananalysiswithnorestraints,thefirstelasticmodeismodenumber7,
thesecondelasticmodeismodenumber8,andsoon.Thisisthenomenclaturemodes1through6arerigid
bodymodeselasticmodesarenumber7andup.

TheuseofmodalanalysistodetectRBMsishelpfulfortroubleshootingrestraintproblemsfound,forexample,in
astaticanalysis.Whenastaticanalysisfailswithaninsufficientrestraintserrormessage,youcanrunamodal
analysisonthesamemodelandidentifythedirection(s)ofmovementcorrespondingto0Hzmode(s).The
directionofadisplacementrevealsthemissingrestraint.
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Naturalfrequencies
Thenaturalfrequenciesstronglydependontheappliedrestraints.Mostoften,thenaturalfrequencyriseswhen
addingrestraintbecausethismakesthestructurestiffer.However,addingrestraintscanhavetheoppositeeffect
thenaturalfrequencymightdecrease.Forexample,consideramodelwithoutsupports.IthassixRBMsand
vibratesaboutitscenterofmass.Incontrast,amodelsupportedbysphericalbearingsonbothendsallowsfor
rotationbutnottranslation.ThismodelhasoneRBMrotationaboutitsaxis.Thefrequencyofthepartially
supportedshaftislowerthanthefrequencyoftheunsupportedshaftbecausemoremassparticipatesin
vibrations.

Naturalfrequenciescanalsosignificantlydependontheappliedload.Whenthisisthecase,modal
analysismustaccountforprestress.Apredominanceoftensilestressesraisesnaturalfrequencies,soitis
typicallynecessarytoconsidertheeffectsofprestressinrotatingmachinery,forinstance.Ontheother
hand,apredominanceofcompressivestressesshiftsnaturalfrequenciesdown.Analysisofnatural
frequenciesinacompressedcolumnshowsthatthefirstnaturalfrequencyshiftsdownwithhigherload.
Themagnitudeofcompressiveforcebringingthefirstnaturalfrequencytozerocorrespondstothe
bucklingload.

Commonerrorsinmodalanalysis
Generally,modalanalysisrequiresalessrefinedmeshthanstressanalysisofthesamemodel.Itspermissibleto
removesmalldetailsfromthemodelaslongtheanalysisobjectiveislimitedtofindingthemodesofvibrationand
themodalfrequencies.However,ifmodalanalysisisprovidingdataforasubsequentvibrationanalysiswiththe
objectivetocalculatestresses,thenthemodelmustincludethedetails.Also,notethatanoverlycoarsemesh
overestimatesmodelstiffnessandcalculatedfrequenciesareartificiallyhigh.

Themostcommonandsevereerrorinmodalanalysisistointerpretthedisplacementsandstressresultsasreal
ones.Theseresultscanonlybeusedinthecomparativesenseandonlyforcomparisonswithinthesamemode.

Anothercommonerror,whichactuallyhappensofteninallkindsofFEA,isthatofoverrestrainingthe
model.Inmodalanalysis,thisresultsinincorrectmodalshapesandartificiallyhighmodalfrequencies.
Finally,thematerialdefinitionmustincludemassdensitydefinedinaunitderivedfromtheunitoflength
andtheunitofmassusedintheanalysis.Itisnotunusualtoseeerrorsof12ordersofmagnitudeinthe
materialdensitydefinitionifthenumericalvalueofthemassdensitybasedonmetersisusedinamodel
wherelengthismeasuredinmillimeters.

Vibrationanalysis
Almosteverytextbookonmechanicalvibrationfeaturesasingledegreeoffreedom(SDOF)oscillator.This
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discretesystemseparatesmassandstiffness:Themassgeneratesinertialeffects,andthespring,elastic(stiffness)
effects.TheSDOFcanbeeasilysimulatedwithFEAtocalculateitssinglenaturalfrequencywhilethespringis
deformingandthemassismovingasarigidbody.

PictorialrepresentationsofSDOFand2DOFsystemsareidealizedobjects:Anyrealpartorassemblyhas
aninfinitenumberofnaturalfrequenciesandassociatedmodesofvibration.Inpracticalvibration
problems,onlyafewlowestmodesareimportantinfindingthevibrationresponsetoexcitation.The
modalsuperpositionmethodletsyoufindthisbyanalyzingasystemwithjustafewDOFasfollows:

1.Decidehowmanymodesshouldbeconsideredtomodelavibrationresponse.Becauseeachmodeis
characterizedbyitsmassparticipation,afrequentlyfollowedruleistoconsiderenoughmodestoreachatleast
80%ofthetotalmassparticipation.

2.Runamodalanalysistofindthemodes.Astructurevibratingineachmodecanbeconsideredasa
SDOFcharacterizedbyapercentageofthetotalmassparticipatinginvibration,thenaturalfrequency,
andthedirectionofvibration.
3.FindtheresponseofeachSDOFtotheexcitation.
4.RepresentthevibrationresponseofamodelasasuperpositionofresponsesoftheSDOFsystems.Note
thatforthismethodtobevalid,thesystemmustbelinear.
Withtheresultsofthemodalanalysisforthenaturalfrequenciesandtheassociatedmodesofvibrationin
hand,nextcomesperformingavibrationanalysistocalculatedisplacementsandstresses.Thecommon
typesofvibrationanalysisbasedonresultsofthemodalsuperpositionmethodaretimeresponseand
frequencyresponse.

Avibrationproblemcanbepresentedbythefollowingequation:

Md+Cd+Kd=F(t)whereM=massmatrix,C=dampingmatrix,K=stiffnessmatrix,F=vectorofnodal
loads(loadsonpointsintheFEmodel),d=unknownvectorofnodaldisplacements,andt=time
Thevectorofnodalloadsisafunctionoftime.Allmatricesaresquareandtheirsizeisequaltothe
numberofDOFinthesystem.This,inturn,correspondstothenumberofmodesconsideredbythe
modalsuperpositionmethod.TheFEAapplicationsolvestheequationsfordisplacementsandcalculates
thestressesfromthedisplacementresults.
Lingotoknow
Certainterminologyishelpfulintheunderstandingofvibrationanalysis:
Dynamicanalysiscanbeperformedonamechanismorstructure.Theanalyzedobjectcanbean
airplane,abuildingsubjectedtoanearthquake,anengine,oradoorbellmakingsound.Vibration
analysisismuchmorespecific.Itdealsonlywithstructuresvibratingaboutthepositionofequilibrium.

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Amechanismisnotfirmlysupportedandcanmovewithouthavingtodeformamechanisms
componentscanmoveasrigidbodies.Onthecontrary,anymotionofastructuremustinvolve
deformationbecauseastructureis,bydefinition,firmlysupported.Thismotionmaytaketheformofa
onetimedeformationwhenastaticloadisapplied,orthestructuremaybeoscillatingabouttheposition
ofequilibriumwhenatimevaryingloadispresent.Inshort,anymotionofastructuremustbe
accompaniedbydeformation.Otherwise,itisnotastructure.
Ifanobjectmoveswithoutdeforming,itisclassifiedasarigidbody.Afryingpaninafreefallcanbe
consideredasarigidbody.However,thesamefryingpansubjectedtoaloadexperiencesdeformation
andmustbemodeledasadeformable(elastic)body.
Thesoftwareassumesacertaintimestepsonumericaleffortsdependonthedurationofthemodeled
event.Forpracticalconsideration,thisapproachissuitableformodelingeventsofshortdurationssuchas
animpactloadorpyrotechnicshock.Givenasufficientduration,atimeresponseanalysiscapturesboth
thetransientandthesteadystateresponseoftheanalyzedstructure.
Ontheotherhand,inafrequencyresponseanalysis(theterminologyusedinyourFEAprogrammaybe
different),excitationisanexplicitfunctionoffrequency.

So,avibrationproblemcanalsobepresentedas:

Md+Cd+Kd=Fsin(t)wherethevectorofnodalloadsFsin(t)isafunctionoftheexcitationfrequency
ratherthantime.Allothercomponentsareidenticaltothepreviousequation.
Frequencyresponseanalysisisforeventsoflongerdurations,wheresufficienttimehaspassedtoreach
thesteadystate.Atypicalexamplewouldbethesimulationofastructuresresponsetoashakerexcitation
wheretheexcitationfrequencyisslowlychangedwithintherangeofinterest.
Inthisexample,thesoftwarecalculatesthesteadystateresponsesuchasthemaximumdisplacement
amplitudeandmaximumstressamplitudes.Thenumericaleffortrequiredtocompletetheanalysis
dependsonthenumberofconsideredmodesandontherangeofanalyzedfrequencies.Thefrequency
responseanalysiscapturesonlythemaximumresponseinthesteadystatevibration.
Commonproblems
Astructuresvibrationresponseintheseexamplesisasuperpositionofresponsesofallmodescalculated
inthemodalanalysis.Thus,whenanimportantmodeismissing,vibrationanalysisresultsareincorrect.
Anotherproblem:Itmightbetemptingtorunafrequencyresponseanalysisbecauseitismuchfaster
thanatimeresponseanalysis.However,thisignorestransientresponse,whichmayhaveanimportant
contributiontovibrationresponse.
Last,dampingisanambiguousparameter.Unlessthestructurehasexplicitdampingprovidedbya
devicesuchasashockabsorber,dampingmustbeestimated.Itismostoftendefinedasamodal
damping,whichisapercentageofcriticaldampinginagivenmode.

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