VIBRATION ENGINEERING

ACTIVITY 2

1. Define Periodic Motion

Periodic motion, in physics, motion repeated in equal intervals of time. Periodic motion is
performed, for example, by a rocking chair, a bouncing ball, a vibrating tuning fork, a swing in
motion, the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, and a water wave. In each case the interval of time
for a repetition, or cycle, of the motion is called a period, while the number of periods per unit
time is called the frequency. Thus, the period of the Earth’s orbit is one year, and its frequency is
one orbit per year. A tuning fork might have a frequency of 1,000 cycles per second and a period
of 1 millisecond (1 thousandth of a second).

2. Define Periodic Vibration

Vibrations that are regular and predictable- like pendulums- are called periodic. Periodic
vibrations are at the heart of music, human speech and almost any other sound where humans
perceive pitch. Frequency is the measure of how often cycles repeat- the number of cycles in a
given amount of time.
Mathematically, frequency is represented by a lower case script. In mathematical terms:
number of cycles
f=
amount of time for those cycles

For example, when an audio speaker cone goes in and out 8000 times in 2 seconds, the
speaker’s frequency is 8000 cycles divided by 2 seconds, or 4000 cycles per second, or 4000 Hz.
Hertz (abbreviated Hz) are the same thing as cycles per second. The Hertz is the official metric
system unit for frequency, so you can use metric prefixes (like kilo- and mega-) with Hertz. For
example, a radio station at 91.3 MHz creates 91.3 million cycles of radio waves every second!

3. Define Hooke's Law

Hooke’s law, law of elasticity discovered by the English scientist Robert Hooke in 1660,
which states that, for relatively small deformations of an object, the displacement or size of the
deformation is directly proportional to the deforming force or load. Under these conditions the
object returns to its original shape and size upon removal of the load. Elastic behaviour of solids
according to Hooke’s law can be explained by the fact that small displacements of their
constituent molecules, atoms, or ions from normal positions is also proportional to the force that
causes the displacement.
 The deforming force may be applied to a solid by stretching, compressing, squeezing,
bending, or twisting. Thus, a metal wire exhibits elastic behaviour according to Hooke’s law
because the small increase in its length when stretched by an applied force doubles each time the
force is doubled. Mathematically, Hooke’s law states that the applied force F equals a constant k
times the displacement or change in length x, or F = kx. The value of k depends not only on the
kind of elastic material under consideration but also on its dimensions and shape.

4. Define Simple Harmonic Motion

Simple Harmonic Motion or SHM is defined as a motion in which the restoring force is
directly proportional to the displacement of the body from its mean position. The direction of this
restoring force is always towards the mean position. The acceleration of a particle executing
simple harmonic motion is given by a(t) = -ω2 x(t). Here, ω is the angular velocity of the
particle.
Simple harmonic motion can be described as an oscillatory motion in which the
acceleration of the particle at any position is directly proportional to the displacement from the
mean position. It is a special case of oscillatory motion.
All the Simple Harmonic Motions are oscillatory and also periodic, but not all oscillatory
motions are SHM. Oscillatory motion is also called the harmonic motion of all the oscillatory
motions, wherein the most important one is simple harmonic motion (SHM).
In this type of oscillatory motion, displacement, velocity and acceleration, and force vary
(w.r.t time) in a way that can be described by either sine (or) the cosine functions collectively
called sinusoids.

5. What is amplitude?
Amplitude, in physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a
vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the length
of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance that the bob
traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by vibrating sources, their
amplitude being proportional to the amplitude of the source.

For a transverse wave, such as the wave on a plucked string, amplitude is measured by
the maximum displacement of any point on the string from its position when the string is at rest.
For a longitudinal wave, such as a sound wave, amplitude is measured by the maximum
displacement of a particle from its position of equilibrium. When the amplitude of a wave
steadily decreases because its energy is being lost, it is said to be damped.
 A vibrating object moves to a certain maximum distance on either side of its stationary
position. Amplitude is the distance from the stationary position to the extreme position on either
side and is measured in metres (m). The intensity of vibration depends on amplitude.

6. What is Period?
The period of vibration (time taken for the oscillator to undertake one complete vibration,
returning to its original position and velocity) can be calculated in three ways. Most direct is the
calculation from the energy curve; using the gradient constitutes a faster, albeit less direct,
method, while calculating it from the vibrational frequency is very fast but assumes that the
vibrational spectrum has already been calculated.

7. What is Frequency?
A vibrating object moves back and forth from its normal stationary position. A complete
cycle of vibration occurs when the object moves from one extreme position to the other extreme,
and back again. The number of cycles that a vibrating object completes in one second is called
frequency. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz). One hertz equals one cycle per second.

8. Why do we study vibration?

Most human activities involve vibration in one form or other. For example, we hear
because our eardrums vibrate and see because light waves undergo vibration. Breathing is
associated with the vibration of lungs and walking involves (periodic) oscillatory motion of legs
and hands. Human speech requires the oscillatory motion of larynges (and tongues) Early
scholars in the field of vibration concentrated their efforts on understanding the natural
phenomena and developing mathematical theories to describe the vibration of physical systems.
In recent times, many investigations have been motivated by the engineering applications of
vibration, such as the design of machines, foundations, structures, engines, turbines, and control
systems.
Most prime movers have vibrational problems due to the inherent unbalance in the
engines. The unbalance may be due to faulty design or poor manufacture. Imbalance in diesel
engines, for example, can cause ground waves sufficiently powerful to create a nuisance in urban
areas. The wheels of some locomotives can rise more than a centimeter off the track at high
speeds due to imbalance. In turbines, vibrations cause spectacular mechanical failures. Engineers
have not yet been able to prevent the failures that result from blade and disk vibrations in
turbines. Naturally, the structures designed to support heavy centrifugal machines, like motors
and turbines, or reciprocating machines, like steam and gas engines and reciprocating pumps, are
also subjected to vibration. In all these situations, the structure or machine component subjected
to vibration can fail because of material fatigue resulting from the cyclic variation of the induced
stress. Furthermore, the vibration causes more rapid wear of machine parts such as bearings and
gears and also creates excessive noise. In machines, vibration can loosen fasteners such as nuts.
In metal cutting processes, vibration can cause chatter, which leads to a poor surface finish.

9. What are the important concepts in periodic motion?

A motion that repeats itself after equal intervals of time is known as periodic motion.
Examples of periodic motion: a tuning fork or motion of a pendulum if you analyze the motion
you will find that the pendulum passes through the mean position only after a definite interval of
time. We can also classify the above motion to be oscillatory. An oscillatory is a motion in which
the body moves to and fro about a fixed position. So an oscillatory motion can be periodic but it
is not necessary.
Time Period (T): It is the time taken by the motion to repeat itself. So the unit of a time
period is seconds.
Frequency (f): It is defined as a number of times the motion is repeated in one second.
The unit of frequency is Hz (Hertz). Frequency is related to Time period as:
1
f=
T
We also have heard of something known as simple harmonic motion. What is a simple
harmonic motion? It is actually a periodic motion having some relation between the restoring
force and displacement from the mean position. SHM is a special case of oscillation in which
motion takes place along a straight line between the two extreme points. A restoring force is seen
directed towards the mean position or towards the equilibrium position in simple harmonic
motion. The mean position in simple harmonic motion is a stable equilibrium.

Reference: (APA Format)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2009, March 17). Wave | Behavior, Definition, Types.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/wave-physics
(n.d.). Anatomy of a vibration – Understanding Sound. Pressbooks.
https://pressbooks.pub/sound/chapter/period-and-frequency/
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Hooke’s Law | Description &
Equation. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Hookes-law
(2021, March 22). General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) Guidelines BYJU’S. BYJUS.
https://byjus.com/jee/simple-harmonic-motion-shm/
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998a, July 20). Amplitude | Definition & Facts.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/amplitude-physics
Period of vibration. (n.d.).
https://www.cup.uni-muenchen.de/archive/cicum/software/mopac7/node223.html
Vibration - Introduction : OSH Answers. (n.d.).
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/vibration/vibration_intro.html
(2021b, March 22). General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) Guidelines BYJU’S. BYJUS.
https://byjus.com/physics/periodic-motion/