Results

Displacement (mm)
Strain
-20
230
-15
175
-10
120
-5
60
0
0
5
-60
10
-110
15
-140
20
-170
Table 1 : The Values of Displacement and Corresponding Strain

Graph of Displacement vs Strain

25
20
f(x) = - 0.09x +15
1.11
10
5

Displacement (mm)

0
-200 -150 -100

-50 -5 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

-10
-15
-20
-25

Strain

Figure 1: Graph of Displacement vs Strain

The relationship between the displacement and the strain obtained from spreadsheet can be
expressed with equation:
Displacement , x=0.095 ( value of strain ) +1.1082
The equation can then be used to obtain the value of x when recording the value of strain in
30mm and 50mm cantilever displacement on both free-undamped by water and damped by
water

experiments.

Example of calculation of the displacement of the cantilever:

If

the

strain

value

58,

then

the

corresponding

will

be

corresponding

will

be

0.095 ( 58 ) +1.1082=4.4081 mm
If

the

strain

value

-238,

then

the

0.095 (238 )+1.1082=23.7182 mm

The values of strain obtained from step 7 to step 11 are then used to obtain the displacement
of the cantilever to obtain the graph of displacement vs time in free-undamped 30mm, freeundamped 50mm, water damped 30mm and water damped 50mm. The graphs obtained are at
below:

Figure 2 : Graph of Displacement vs Time in 30mm Free-undamped Cantilever

Figure 3 : Graph of Displacement vs Time of Water Damped Cantilever

Figure 4 : Graph of Displacement vs Time of Free-undamped Cantilever

Figure 5 : Graph of Displacement vs Time of Water Damped Cantilever

Mass of cantilever beam = 295g

Equivalent mass of the beam,

meq=

33
33
( 140
) m=( 140
) ( 295 g)=69.536 g

Stiffness of cantilever, k =
9

3 (70 10 kgms /m ) (19.09 10 m) ( 6.35 10 m )

=107.38 kg s2
3
3
12(927 10 m)
Theoretical natural frequency of the cantilever beam,

1
k
1
=
2 meq 2

107.38 kg s2
=6.254 s1
33
295 103 kg
140

From the free-undamped 30mm displacement of the cantilever beam:

5 oscillations completed at 0.84s, = 0.84s/5 = 0.168s
From the free-undamped 50mm displacement of the cantilever beam:
5 oscillations completed at (0.92-0.08)s, = (0.92-0.08)s/5 = 0.168s

Experimental natural frequency of the cantilever beam:

1
1
f n= =
=5.952 s1
0.168 s
Theoretical frequency of viscously damped cantilever with damped mass (122g):
1
2

k
1
=
meq 2

107.38 kg s2
[

33
( 140
) 295+122]10

=3.768 s1
kg

For the water damped 30mm displacement of cantilever beam:

5 oscillations completed in (1.52-0.14) s, = (1.52-0.14) s/5 = 0.276 s
For the water damped 50mm displacement of cantilever beam:
3 oscillations completed in (1.1-0.28) s, = (1.1-0.28) s/3 = 0.273 s
Experimental frequency of viscously damped and 30mm displacement of
the cantilever beam:
1
1
f d= =
=3.623 s1
0.276 s
Experimental frequency of viscously damped and 50mm displacement of
the cantilever beam:
1
1
f d= =
=3.663 s1
0.273 s

Discussion
1. The theoretical natural frequency of the cantilever beam can be calculated using the
following equation:

Where:
k is the stiffness of the system

is the period of the oscillation

fn is the frequency of the oscillation
m is the mass of the cantilever, in this case the equivalent mass of the cantilever,
meq=

33
( 140
)m

Substituting the k and the m with

meq

will yield the theoretical natural

frequency of the cantilever.

k can be obtained by using the following formula:

Where:
E = modulus of elasticity, for aluminium, E = 70GPa
L = length of the beam
3

I = moment of inertia, for rectangular area, I =

b = width of the beam
h = height of the beam

bh
12

Thus k =
9

3 (70 10 kgms /m ) (19.09 10 m) ( 6.35 10 m )

=107.38 kg s2
3
3
12(927 10 m)

Theoretical natural frequency, fn =

1
2

107.38 kg s2
=6.254 s1
33
(
)295 103 kg
140

From Graph of Strain vs Time obtained from 30mm and 50mm with no water, it can
be observed that the experimental periods of oscillation are:

For 30mm and 50mm displacement of free-undamped cantilever beam:

It can be observed from the graph that 5 oscillations completed in 0.84s, thus
experimental natural frequency of the cantilever is equal to:
5
fn=
=5.952 s1
0.84 s
Percentage of error=

( 6.2545.952
) 100 =4.83
6.254

The difference between the experimental values and the theoretical value occurs
because the cantilever experience slight damping in the experiment due to friction that
is cause by the air when vibrating, according to the equation:

Where

is the damped circular frequency and the

frequency that can be represented by the equation:

n=

k
m

is the natural circular

And the

< 1 for under-damped system, thus the

natural frequency,

2 d <

<

2 n , experimental values
1

that the theoretical value (6.254 s ) .

, the experimental

(5.952 s1 ) is lower

The accuracy of the experiment of the experiment for free-undamped and free-damped
increase as the initial displacement of the cantilever increases from 30mm to 50mm.
When the experimental results were compared with the theoretical natural frequency, it
can be seen that the 50mm case yields result that is closer to the theoretical result.

1
From 30mm free-damped cantilever, the experimental damped frequency is 3.623 s

1
while for 50mm free-damped cantilever the result is 3.663 s

in which the latter is

1
closer to the theoretical damped frequency that is 3.768 s .

The accuracy of the data can also be determined by the percentage error, the smaller the
percentage error when compare with theoretical result the more accurate the data is.
From discussion No.1 the error percentage for 30mm and 50mm displacement of freeundamped cantilever beam is 4.83%,
For 30mm displacement and free-damped cantilever beam:

Error percentage =

( 3.7683.623
) 100 =3.848
3.768

For 50mm displacement and free-damped cantilever beam

Error percentage

( 3.7683.663
) 100 =2.787
3.768

Other findings

Graphs plotted by the spreadsheet are not smooth enough, the graph can be
further smoother by reduces the softwares time interval of data recording
from 5ms to time intervals lower than 5ms, which will record more strains
value and can then be used to plot smoother graphs.

The period of oscillations obtained from the graphs are approximated based on
the values at the x-axis intercept as the value are approximated due to limiting

number of smaller graphs grid line.

Initial displacements of cantilever beam are approximated to 30mm and 50mm
due to the limitation of the resolution of the ruler.