Project

ESA322/EMM342
Dynamic Vibration Absorber

School: Aerospace Engineering

Bil.
1
2
3
4
5

Name
Ahmad Shaqeer Bin Mohamed Thaheer
Hairuniza Binti Ahmed Kutty
Nazreen Shah Bin Nasip
Shanul Nellisa Binti Sharulnahar
Mohammad Iddin Ikram Bin Mohammad Aminuddin

ID Number
111706
111711
111722
111725
115901

Marks
Organization

20%
Organization

10

Mechanics (grammars & punctuations)

10

Content

80%
Intro/Theory

10

Design (simplicity, originality, CAD)

15

Analysis (FBD, EOM, Solution)

15

Testing (functionality)

15

Results/Discussions - figures/tables

15

Conclusion

References

Total

100%
i

Signature

CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. ii
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ ii
1

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1

THEORY ....................................................................................................................................... 2

DESIGN ......................................................................................................................................... 5

ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................... 6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 10

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 12

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 12

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 13
APPENDIX A

C.A.D DESIGN..................................................................................................... 13

APPENDIX B

MEASURING SPRING STIFFNESS................................................................... 13

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 The primary system (a) and reduced or simplified system (b). ............................................... 2
Figure 2 With DVA is being added to the system (a) and the new simplified system (b). .................... 2
Figure 3 Free Body Diagram for the primary mass. .............................................................................. 3
Figure 4 Graph of amplitude against frequency ratio ............................................................................ 4
Figure 5 Dynamic Vibration Absorber set up apparatus ........................................................................ 5
Figure 6 Graph of Force against Extension for spring 1 ........................................................................ 6
Figure 7 Graph of Force against Extension for spring 2 ........................................................................ 7
Figure 8 Set-up for data collection to determine spring constant ........................................................ 10
Figure 9 CAD design of the DVA system (a) and closer view of the configurations of the platform
mass (b) ................................................................................................................................................. 13
Figure 10 Determination of spring stiffness by extending the spring .................................................. 13

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Determination of spring stiffness 1 ........................................................................................... 6
Table 2 Determination of spring stiffness 2 ........................................................................................... 7
Table 3 Result analysis between primary system and absorber system ............................................... 10

ii

INTRODUCTION

Dynamic Vibration Absorber (DVA) is basically a type of passive vibration control

system and it is based on the concept of attaching secondary mass to a primary vibrating system
such that the secondary mass dissipates the energy or taking the energy from the primary
system and thus reduces the amplitude of the primary vibration system. In addition, dynamic
vibration absorber is designed so that the natural frequencies of the resulting system are lower
from the excitation frequency. Theoretically, the absorber mass or secondary mass should be
25% from the primary mass.
However, the classic model of the vertical 2DOF spring-mass-damper system with a
DVA is not widely available to demonstrate this phenomenon, so this project targeting in
creating a system with low-cost configurations. It was decided that an electric motor with an
unbalanced mass is the most effective way to generate a periodic applied force in the system
so that the excitation frequency can be controlled. The biggest challenge in making a physical
model of this 2DOF system is constraining the motion.
The DVA has some advantages compared to other vibration suppression techniques
such as it is an external to the machine structure, thus, no re-installation of equipment is needed.
Other than that, the DVA can have a pre-design and tested even before any structural
modifications done to the main product without knowing its mass-elastic properties of the
product. It can be adjusted in the lab environment with predictable field results, therefore, offers
user an economical vibration reduction solution.

THEORY

Initially, the vibration system is set in a single degree of freedom system as shown in
Figure 1. Then, this system is excited with an unbalance rotating mass until it reaches resonance
condition. Finally, an absorber is applied into the system to absorb the energy from the primary
system i.e. the primary vibration system is transferring its energy to the secondary mass up
until a point in which the amplitude of the primary system becomes or approximately zero.
Consider a vertical spring-mass system is as shown in Figure 1 and unbalance mass is
applied as a harmonic disturbance to a SDOF system.

(a)
(b)
Figure 1 The primary system (a) and reduced or simplified system (b).

Initially, the system is in single degree of freedom but then since it is excited in
resonance, an absorber mass should be added to the system and converting the system into two
degree of freedom system. Basically, a vibration absorber is secondary spring-mass system that
being added to the primary system as shown in Figure 2 and design to absorb the input
disturbance by shifting the motion to the new added mass i.e. absorber mass.

(a)
(b)
Figure 2 With DVA is being added to the system (a) and the new simplified system (b).

Figure 3 Free Body Diagram for the primary mass.

By applying Newtons 2nd law to both primary and secondary mass, then combine these two
equation will yield,

k2 x1 F0 sin(t )

k2 x2
0

m1 0 x1 k1 k2
0 m x k

2 2

(1)

It is assumed that the trial function or steady state response for two degree of freedom is given
by,
x1 X 1 sin t
(2)
x2 X 2 sin t
By differentiating it into 1st and 2nd order,
1st order: x1 X1 cos t ; x2 X 2 cos t

(3)

2nd order: x1 2 X1 sin t ; x2 2 X 2 sin t

(4)

Substitute equation (3) into equation (1) will gives out,

m1 0 2 X 1 k1 k2
0 m 2 k

2 X 2

2
k1 k2 m 2

k2

k2 X 1 F0 sin(t )

k2 X 2
0

X 1 F0 sin(t )

0
k2 m X 2

k2

(5)

(6)

Therefore, through simplification, the amplitude of the system is given by,

X1

k k
1

m2 2

m1 2 k2 m2 2 k2 2

(7)

X2

k2 F0
k1 k2 m1 k2 m2 2 k22
2

(8)

From equation (7), it can be observed that the amplitude of vibration of the primary system,
X 1 can be zero if the numerator becomes zero,

m2 2 0

(9)

k2
n 2
2
m

(10)

Or,

Based on figure below, when the excitation frequency is equal to the natural frequency
of the absorber, the amplitude of the main system becomes zero even though it is excite by
harmonic motion force. Therefore, the primary mass will be totally damped and transferred to
the secondary mass. The amplitude of the secondary mass is then calculated. But in reality, a
DVA system can only minimize the oscillations unless it is design perfectly.

Figure 4 Graph of amplitude against frequency ratio

DESIGN

A physical model of the system was developed (CAD design refer to appendix) as can
be seen in Figure 5. The frame are made of square hollow steel where there is a rail track
attached to it. Here, the platform will slide up and down following the rail track. The platform
are made of solid steel and a case fan is used to act as a rotating motor with a unbalanced mass
attach to it. To combine the platform and the case fan, a 5 mm Perspex plate were used. Since
the platform are assembled in a rail concept, thus to reduce frictions, a bearing is used. 2 springs
were used by hooking it up on top and bottom of the plate and a hook is used to help attach the
springs. The electric drive for the case fan is a DC power supply connected to a voltage
regulator since the case fan only supports 12V of power.

Figure 5 Dynamic Vibration Absorber set up apparatus

ANALYSIS

There 2 types of spring used in the primary system which the stiffness of the springs
are noted as k1 and k2 respectively. For the absorber system, the stiffness of spring is ka .
For spring 1 stiffness, k1 :
Initial displacement, x0 = 7.6 cm
Mass (g)
342
366
502
708
1000

Force (N)
3.36
3.59
4.92
6.95
9.81

Displacement, x (cm)
8.40
8.60
10.0
12.1
15.0

Extension, x (cm)
0.8
1.0
2.4
4.5
7.4

Extension, x (m)
0.008
0.010
0.024
0.045
0.074

Table 1 Determination of spring stiffness 1

Force, F (N)

Graph of Force against Extension

for Spring 1
0.08
0.07
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0
0

6
8
Extension, x (m)

10

12

Figure 6 Graph of Force against Extension for spring 1

Since two spring 1 are used for the SDOF system, therefore 1 is multiplied by 2 due to the
spring position in parallel. Thus, the stiffness of spring 1 is calculated by,

y y
k1 2 2 1
x2 x1
4.92462 3.59046
k1 2

0.024 0.01

k1 1.1118 N/m

For spring 2 stiffness, 2 :

Force (N)
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40

Extension, x (cm)
8.1
9.8
11.7
13.9
16.2
18.0
19.9
22.2

Extension, x (m)
0.081
0.098
0.117
0.139
0.162
0.180
0.199
0.222

Table 2 Determination of spring stiffness 2

Force, F (N)

Graph of Force against Extension

for Spring 2
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0

0.05

0.1
0.15
Extension, x (m)

0.2

Figure 7 Graph of Force against Extension for spring 2

The stiffness of spring 2 is determined by calculating the gradient,

25 20
0.162 0.139
k2 217.391 N/m

k2

Therefore, the total stiffness spring of primary system is,

k k1 k2

k 1.1118 217.391
k 218.503 N/m

0.25

For the stiffness of spring in absorber system, :

Initial displacement, x0 = 1.5 cm
Final displacement, x f = 3 cm
Extension, x 3 1.5 1.5 cm 0.015 m
Mass, m 100 g 0.1 kg
Gravitational acceleration, g 9.81 ms-2
Force, F mg 0.1 9.81 0.981 N
F ka x
F
x
0.981
ka
0.015
ka 65.4 N/m
ka

The natural frequency of the primary system and absorber system are calculated as below,
The data taken from the setup of apparatus:
Primary mass, m p 754 g 0.745kg
Absorber mass, ma 101g 0.101kg
Unbalanced mass, mu 13g 0.013kg
For the natural frequency of primary system,

n p

k
mp

218.503
0.754
17.0233rad/s

n p
n p

For the natural frequency of absorber system,

n a

ka
ma

65.4
0.101
24.4465rad/s

n a
n a

Assume that the speed of fan motor that we take from CPU is 250 RPM and the eccentricity of
the fan motor is 3 cm.

1 RPM 0.104719755 rad/s

Therefore, 250 RPM 26.1799 rad/s and eccentricity, e 3cm 0.03m
The force of the motor, F0 , can be calculate:

F0 mp e 2
F0 0.754 0.03 (26.17992 )
F0 15.5035 N

The amplitude of primary system, :

k k

ma 2 F0

m p 2 ka m p 2 ka 2

65.4 0.101 (17.02332 ) 15.5035

X
218.5 65.4 0.754 (17.02332 ) 65.4 0.754 17.02332 65.42

X 0.0392 m
The amplitude of absorber system, :
Xa

Xa

k k

ka F0

m 2 ka m 2 ka 2

65.4 15.5035
218.5 65.4 0.754 17.02332 65.4 0.754 17.02332 65.42

X a 0.07095 m

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

System
Primary
Absorber

Natural frequency (rad/s)

17.0233
25.4465

Amplitude (m)
-0.03920
-0.07095

Table 3 Result analysis between primary system and absorber system

Hookes Law, law of elasticity states that any deformation of a spring size or
displacement is directly proportional to the force needed to extend, or compress the spring.
This statement can be expressed mathematically as:

F k x

(11)

Where:
F Force applied to the spring
k Spring constant
x Displacement of the spring

To determine the spring constant, some data collection need to be done by conducting a simple
experiment as shown in below. By adding extra mass, the deflection of the spring may be
observed. This data is collected and tabulated in Table 1 and Table 2 in Section 4.

Figure 8 Set-up for data collection to determine spring constant

Figure 6 and Figure 7 shows the graph plotted to determine the spring constant for
spring 1 and spring 2 respectively. As stated above, the relationship of the graph depicts
equation (11), therefore, the spring constant is the slope of the line in the graph plotted.
Initially, the system is a single degree of freedom system, which consists of single
primary mass and rotating unbalance mass, as shown in Figure 1. The presence of unbalance
mass is normally the primary causes of vibrations. This is due to the distribution of the mass
that is uneven, around the axis of rotation that will cause the center of mass to be misaligned
with center of rotation, creating centrifugal force. The unbalance mass effect becomes greater,
as the primary rotating speed increases. The effect of unbalance mass need to be encounter as
it may cause vibration, noise, and may also cause manufacturing defects.

10

The primary natural frequency is the original natural frequency of the system before
attachment of absorber, and absorber natural frequency for the system is measured before it is
attached to primary mass. Table 3 shows the results of the natural frequency and amplitude of
primary system and also absorber. The natural frequency of the absorber is higher compared to
the primary natural absorber. This is because the mass of the absorber is much lower, which
will directly affect the natural frequency. This statement relates to equation (10), which depicts
that the natural frequency is inversely proportional to the mass of the system. In addition, the
single degree of freedom system oscillates with the amplitude of -0.03920 m, and when the
DVA system is applied, the amplitudes of the system changes to -0.07095 m. Adding absorber
increases the resonance frequency, because the system changes from single degree of freedom,
to two degree of freedom system, which will give out two natural frequencies.

11

CONCLUSION

Overall, the experimental results were influenced by the unavoidable existence of

friction in the system and heavy platform making it difficult to oscillate. Next, unavailability
of different type of spring stiffness increases the difficulty in finding the perfect combination
for the dynamic vibration absorber. The only parameter that can be changed is the unbalanced
mass but increasing the mass will take up the space in front of the case fan, plus, the fan will
have not enough torque to rotate the fan due to the mass.
Dynamic Vibration Absorber can be utilize to encounter vibration issue. Vibration
neutralizer or dynamic vibration absorber is designed to ensure that the natural frequency of
the system is not the same as the excitation frequency. DVA system actually implemented
another system which consists another spring-mass which will absorb the disturbance by
transferring it into the added mass. Therefore, from a single degree of freedom system
unbalance mass, the system change to two degree of freedom system.

REFERENCES
[1] A Hooke's Law Spring. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.4physics.com/phy_demo/HookesLaw/HookesLawLab.html
[2] Dr. Norizham, A. R. (2015). Structural Dynamics ESA 322 & Vibration and Noise
EMM 342. Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Aerospace Engineering, Pulau
Pinang.
[3] Rao, S. S. (n.d.). Vibration Absorber. In S. S. Rao, Mechanical Vibrations (5th ed.).
[4] Russell, D. A. (n.d.). The Dynamic Vibration Absorber. Retrieved from
http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/absorber/DynamicAbsorber.html

12

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

C.A.D DESIGN

(a)

(b)

Figure 9 CAD design of the DVA system (a) and closer view of the configurations of the platform mass (b)

APPENDIX B

MEASURING SPRING STIFFNESS

Figure 10 Determination of spring stiffness by extending the spring

13