EXTRACTING SINE TONES FROM A POWER SPECTRAL DENSITY

By Tom Irvine
Email: tom@vibrationdata.com
October 16, 2012

Introduction

ACCELERATION PSD
Overall Level = 5.5 GRMS

10

1
ACCEL (G /Hz)

0.1
2

0.01

0.001

0.0001
1 10 100 1000 2000

FREQUENCY (Hz)
Figure 1.

The power spectral density (PSD) in Figure 1 is a case history, given without a corresponding
time history.

Spectral peaks occur at the frequencies 13, 26 and 52 Hz. Whether these peaks represent fine
narrowband random vibration or steady sine tones is unclear.

The task is to assume that the peaks represent pure sine tones and to extract equivalent sine
amplitudes. A peak response enveloping method will be used
Analysis

The proposed method begins by taking the vibration response spectrum (VRS) of the PSD using
the method in Reference 1.

The VRS gives the response of a family of single-degree-of-freedom systems subjected to

random vibration base excitation, as a function of natural frequency.

The VRS initially gives the overall GRMS response as a function of natural frequency for an
assumed Q value. This will be taken as Q=10 for this example. A family of Q values could be
used for conservatism. Also, note that Q=10 is equivalent to 5% damping.

The next task is to determine the peak value VRS. Note that the GRMS value is equivalent to
the standard deviation 1 assuming zero mean. A common approach is to assume that the peak
response is 3, or 3 times the GRMS value.

The actual peak may be higher, however, because the peak response will increase as the duration
increases.

No duration was given for the PSD in Figure 1. But assume 60 seconds.

Now let be the maximum expected peak or crest factor. A formula for this factor was
derived in Reference 2 using the Rayleigh distribution for the absolute response peaks.

The theoretical  is

  2 ln (fn T) (1)

The value at 53 Hz is

  2 ln (53 Hz )(60 sec)  4.0 (2)

Thus, a peak is expected for a natural frequency of 53 Hz.

A VRS was calculated for the PSD in Figure 1 via equation (1). The resulting VRS is shown in
Figure 2.
 VIBRATION RESPONSE SPECTRUM Q=10

100

90

80

70
PEAK ACCEL (G)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
5 10 100 1000 2000

NATURAL FREQUENCY (Hz)

Figure 2.

Table 1. Sine Extraction via Response Spectra, Q=10

Natural VRS Sine
Frequency (Hz) Peak (G) Peak (G)
13 33 3.3
26 86 8.6
52 99 9.9

The VRS peak for each of the three spectral frequencies from the PSD is shown in Table 1.
These values are given in the center column.

The equivalent sine amplitudes are simply calculated by dividing the VRS peak by the Q value.
This is possible because Q is the transmissibility magnitude for a single-degree-of-freedom
system driven at is natural frequency. This also assumes that the oscillator systems reach steady-
state response, which is very conservatively satisfied by the 60 second duration for the Q=10
case.
Conclusion
The approach taken in this example is thus based on equivalent peak response value. It may be
very conservative in terms of fatigue, however, as shown in Appendix A.

References

1. T. Irvine, An Introduction to the Vibration Response Spectrum, Revision D,

Vibrationdata, 2009.
2. T. Irvine, Equivalent Static Loads for Random Vibration, Revision N, Vibrationdata,
2012.
3. ASTM E 1049-85 (2005) Rainflow Counting Method, 1987.
 APPENDIX A

ACCELERATION SDOF RESPONSE fn=53 Hz Q=10

150 400
Response to Random Synthesis - Left Scale
100 350

50 300

0 250

-50 200
ACCEL (G)

ACCEL (G)
-100 150
Response to Sine - Right Scale

-150 100

-200 50

-250 0

-300 -50

-350 -100

-400 -150
2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 5.0

TIME (SEC)

Figure A-1.

A random vibration time history was synthesized for the PSD in Figure 1. A 53 Hz sine function
with an amplitude of 9.9 G was also generated per Table 1. The duration was 60 seconds. The
time history plots of each of these base input functions are omitted for brevity.

Each input was separately applied to a single-degree-of-freedom with a natural frequency of 53

Hz and Q=10. The responses are shown in Figure A-1 for a three-second window.

Each response has an absolute peak of nearly 100 G. But the sine response time history has
much greater accumulated fatigue. This could be quantified by using rainflow cycle counting
per Reference 3.