Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 12 (12): 1678-1682, 2012

ISSN 1990-9233
© IDOSI Publications, 2012
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2012.12.12.50

Analysis of Critical Speed of Shaft Using C and MATLAB

N. Lenin Rakesh, A. Thirugnanam and Mike Vaultine

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bharath Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box: 600073 Chennai, India

Abstract: The project deals with the analysis of critical speed of shafts using C and MATLAB. All the given
shaft parameters such as load conditions, length, diameter, etc. will be determined for the given problem and
analytical solution of critical speed of shaft will be obtained. The material constants like young’s modulus and
load distribution over the given elements will be applied while calculating critical speed using C and MATLAB.
The theory related to the title will be studied from ‘Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design’ Ninth edition.
Analytical solution has to be obtained. To obtain computer solution C and MATLAB will be used. And a
comparison of results obtained from analytical calculation and using C and MATLAB will be presented.

Key words: CPL BCPL VSM

INTRODUCTION programming languages of all time. C has greatly

In solid mechanics, in the field of rotordynamics, the
critical speed is the theoretical angular velocity which
excites the natural frequency of a rotating object, such as
a shaft, propeller, leadscrew, or gear. As the speed of
rotation approaches the object's natural frequency, the
object begins to resonate which dramatically flow within
organisations. VSM captures and presents the whole
process from end to end in a method that is easy to
understand and apply. It captures the current issues and
presents a realistic picture. Carrying out a VSM exercise
encourages a team approach and, through the capture of
performance increases systemic vibration. The resulting
resonance occurs regardless of orientation.
When the rotational speed is equal to the numerical
value of the natural vibration then that speed is called
critical speed.
‘C’ Programming Language: Identify C (pronounced as
"see", like the letter C) is a general-purpose computer
programming language developed between 1969 and
1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories
for use with the Unix operating system.
Although C was designed for implementing system
software, it is also widely used for developing portable
application software. C is one of the most widely used
influenced many other popular programming languages,
most notably C++, which began as an extension to C.
History of C: ‘C’ is one of the most popular programming
Language, it was developed by Dennis Ritchie at AT &
T’s Bell laboratories at USA in 1972. It is an upgraded
version of two earlier languages, called BPCL and B,
which were also developed by Bell laboratories.
The root map for all modern computers languages are
started through the ALGOL language, in early 1960’s after
then COBOL was being used for commercial applications,
FORTRAN was being developed for scientific
applications. At this stage, people started thinking about
the single language which can program all possible
applications. A committee was formed to develop a new
language called Combined programming Language (CPL)
at Cambridge University. Along with CPL another
language called BCPL was developed with some
additional features of CPL.
At the same time another language called ‘B’ was
being developed by Ken Thompson AT & T’s Bell labs.
But like BPCL and B turned out to be very specific.
Dennis Ritchie developed a language with some
additional features of BPCL and B which is very simple,
relatively good programming efficiency and a
relatively good machine efficiency called ‘C’ language,

Corresponding Author: N. Lenin Rakesh, Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bharath Institute of Science & Technology P.O. 600073 Chennai, India.

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consequently the ANSI (American National Standards
Institute) began to work on a standardised definition of
the ‘C’ Language that makes it powerful.
Design: C’ is an imperative (procedural) systems
implementation language. It was designed to be compiled
using a relatively straightforward compiler, to provide
low-level access to memory, to provide language
constructs that map efficiently to machine instructions
and to require minimal run-time support. C was therefore
useful for many applications that had formerly been coded
in assembly language.
Despite its low-level capabilities, the language was
designed to encourage cross-platform programming. A
standards-compliant and portably written C program can
be compiled for a very wide variety of computer platforms
and operating systems with few changes to its source
code. The language has become available on a very wide
range of platforms, from embedded microcontrollers to
supercomputers.
Example of C:
#include <iostream.h>
#include<stdio.h>
Void main()
{ libraries for matrix manipulation, LAPACK.
int a,b,c;
float avg;
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &a);
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &b);
printf("Enter a number\n");
scanf("%d", &c);
avg=(a+b+c)/3;
printf ("The average of the three number is: ”\n %f,avg);
getch();
} containing MATLAB code and functions.
Matlab Programming Language: MATLAB (matrix
laboratory) is a numerical computing environment and
fourth-generation programming language. Developed by
MathWorks, MATLAB allows matrix manipulations,
plotting of functions and data, implementation of
algorithms, creation of user interfaces and interfacing with
programs written in other languages, including C, C++,
Java and Fortran.s
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Although MATLAB is intended primarily for
numerical computing, an optional toolbox uses the
MuPAD symbolic engine, allowing access to symbolic
computing capabilities. An additional package, Simulink,
adds graphical multi-domain simulation and Model-Based
Design for dynamic and embedded systems.
In 2004, MATLAB had around one million users
across industry and academia. MATLAB users come from
various backgrounds of engineering, science and
economics. MATLAB is widely used in academic and
research institutions as well as industrial enterprises.
History: Cleve Moler, the chairman of the computer-
science department at the University of New Mexico,
started developing MATLAB in the late 1970s. He
designed it to give his students access to.
LINPACK and EISPACK without them having to
learn Fortran. It soon spread to other universities and
found a strong audience within the applied mathematics
community. Jack Little, an engineer, was exposed to it
during a visit Moler made to Stanford University in 1983.
Recognizing its commercial potential, he joined with Moler
and Steve Bangert. They rewrote MATLAB in C and
founded MathWorks in 1984 to continue its development.
These rewritten libraries were known as JACKPAC. In
2000, MATLAB was rewritten to use a newer set of
MATLAB was first adopted by researchers and
practitioners in control engineering, Little's specialty, but
quickly spread to many other domains. It is now also used
in education, in particular the teaching of linear algebra
and numerical analysis and is popular amongst scientists
involved in image processing.
Syntax: The MATLAB application is built around the
MATLAB language and most use of MATLAB involves
typing MATLAB code into the Command Window (as an
interactive mathematical shell), or executing text files
MATLAB can call functions and subroutines written
in the C programming language or Fortran. A wrapper
function is created allowing MATLAB data types to be
passed and returned. The dynamically loadable object
files created by compiling such functions are termed
"MEX-files" (for MATLAB executable).
Libraries written in Java, ActiveX or. NET can be
directly called from MATLAB and many MATLAB
libraries (for example XML or SQL support) are
 Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 12 (12): 1678-1682, 2012

b jxi
implemented as wrappers around Java or ActiveX =ij (12 − b 2j − xi2 ) when xi ai
libraries. Calling MATLAB from Java is more complicated, 6 EI1
but can be done with MATLAB extension, which is sold 600 × (175) × (7552 − 6002 − 1752 )
11 =
separately by MathWorks, or using an undocumented 18.5 × 1012
mechanism called JMI (Java-to-Matlab Interface), which
should not be confused with the unrelated Java Metadata = 0.00119N/mm
Interface that is also called JMI.
As alternatives to the MuPAD based Symbolic Math 275 × (500) × (7752 − 2752 − 5002 )
12 =
Toolbox available from MathWorks, MATLAB can be 18.5 × 1012
connected to Maple or Mathematical. = 0.00204 mm/N

Analytical Solution of the Problem: Problem: Consider a 600 × (175) × (7752 − 6002 − 1752 )
=
11 =
12
simple supported steel shaft as depicted in fig. with 25mm 18.5 × 1012
diameter and 775mm span between bearings, carrying two = 0.00129 mm/N
gears weighing 175N and 275N.
Now the deflections
Find the influence coefficients.
Find y and y2. y1 = 1 11 + 2 12

And the first critical speed using Rayleigh’s

equation. = 175 × (0.00119) + 275 (0.00129)
= 0.56 mm

y2 = 1 21 + 2 22

= 175 × (0.00129) + 275 × (0.00204)

= 0.79mm

wiyi2 = 175 × (0.56)2 + 275 × (0.79)2

Solution:
= 315.3 Nm
Given data: diameter (d) = 25mm
Length (l) = 775mm wiyi2 = 175 × (0.56)2 + 275 × (0.79)2
First load (w1) = 175N
Second load (w2) = 275N = 226.5Nm
Young’s modulus (E)= 207000
Critical speed of shaft:
Influence Coefficient:
9810 × (315.3)
4 =
I= d 226.5
64 = 117 rad/sec.

= (25) 4 C Program:
64
= 19175 mm4 #include<conio.h>
6EIl = 6×(207000)×(19175) #include<stdio.h>
= 18.5 × 1012 Nmm3 #include<math.h>
void main()
Rayleigh’s Equation: {float I,d,pi=3.14,E=207000,l,k,b,b1,b2,x,x1,x2,S11,S22,S

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12,S21,w1=175,w2=275,Y1,Y2,H1,H2,g=9810,cs; Enter the length: 775

printf("Enter the diameter:"); Flexural Rigidity:18447308161024.000000
scanf("%f",&d); Enter the length from opposite end: 600
Enter the length to the first load: 175
I=pi*d*d*d*d/64;
printf("the moment of inertia is:%f\n\n",I); Influence co efficient is: 0.001195
printf("Enter the lenth:"); Enter the length from opposite end: 275
scanf("%f",&l); Enter the length to the first load: 500
k=6*E*I*l; Influence co efficient is: 0.002050
printf("Flexural Rigidity is:%f\n\n",k); Enter the length from opposite end: 275
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:"); Enter the length to the first load: 175
scanf("%f",&b); Influence co efficient is: 0.001290
printf("Enter the lenth to the first load:"); Influence co efficient is: 0.001290
scanf("%f",&x); Deflection at first load is: 0.563849
S11=(b*x*(l*l-b*b-x*x))/k; Deflection at second load is: 0.789384
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S11); Summation of load
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:"); *Deflection is: 315.754028
scanf("%f",&b1); Summation of load*square of deflection is: 226.996735
printf("Enter the length to the first load:"); The critical speed of the shaft is: 116.815147
scanf("%f",&x1);
S22=(b1*x1*(l*l-b1*b1-x1*x1))/k; MATLAB Programming:
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S22);
printf("Enter the lenth from the opposite end:"); clear all;
scanf("%f",&b2); clc;
printf("Enter the lenth to the first load:"); clear all;
scanf("%f",&x2); w1=input('enter the value w1:')
w2=input('enter the value w2:')
S12=(b2*x2*(l*l-b2*b2-x2*x2))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S12); D=input('enter the value D:')
S21=(b2*x2*(l*l-b2*b2-x2*x2))/k;
printf("Influence co efficient is:%f\n\n",S21); L=input('enter the value L:')
Y1=w1*S11+w2*S12; E=207000;%Young's
printf("Deflection at first load is:%f\n\n",Y1); g=9810;
Y2=w1*S21+w2*S22; b11=600;b22=500;b12=275;b21=275;
printf("Deflection at second load: is%f\n\n",Y2); %lengths of shaft after load point
H1=(w1*Y1)+(w2*Y2); x11=175;x22=275;x12=175;x21=175;
printf("sumation of load*deflection:%f\n\n",H1); %lengths of shaft before load point
H2=(w1*Y1*Y1)+(w2*Y2*Y2); I=pi*(D^4)/64
printf("sumation of load*square of deflection: %f\n\n", FR=6*E*I*L
H2); d11=b11*x11*(L^2-b11^2-x11^2)/FR
cs=sqrt(g*H1/H2); d22=b22*x22*(L^2-b22^2-x22^2)/FR
printf("The critical speed of the shaft:%f\n\n",cs); d21=b21*x21*(L^2-b21^2-x21^2)/FR
} d12=b12*x12*(L^2-b12^2-x12^2)/FR
Y1=w1*d11+w2*d12
C Program Output: Y2=w1*d21+w2*d22
EWY=w1*Y1+w2*Y2
Enter the diameter: 25 EWY2=w1*Y1*Y1+w2*Y2*Y2
The moment of inertia is: 19165.039062 w=sqrt(g*EWY/EWY2)

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MATLAB Programming Output: CONCLUSION

enter the value w1:175 Thus, C and MATLAB programs of the given
w1 = 175 problem has been written and the output obtained and a
enter the value w2:275 comparison between the output of the analytical solution
w2 = 275 and the outputs obtained from the respective programs
enter the value D:25 were successfully compared.
D = 25
enter the value L:775 REFERENCES
L = 775
I = 1.9175e+004 1. “Mechanical Engineering Design”by Sighley’s
FR = 1.8457e+013 (Ninth Edition).
d11 = 0.0012 2. “Fundamental of Machine Design – Dr. T. J. Prabhu
d22 = 0.0020 3. “MATLAB and SIMULINK”-Herbert Shield.
d21 = 0.0013
d12 =0.0013
Y1 = 0.5636
Y2 = 0.7890
EWY = 315.5940
EWY2 = 226.7666
w = 116.8448

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