DoM and Vibration Laboratory

Forced and Free Vibrations

Aim:

To study undamped free vibrations and forced vibrations of equivalent spring mass system.

Equipments used:
DC variable speed motor, Speed control unit, rectangular beam, Plotter unit, spring.

Fig.1: Universal Vibration Apparatus

Description of apparatus:

The main frame is universal vibration apparatus. It contains a rectangular beam which is
supported at one end by a pin joint and the other end is supported by a spring of known stiffness
which is bolted to the main frame of the apparatus. An exciter unit is coupled with D.C. variable
speed motor which is bolted on beam and thus an equivalent mass system can be formed by
adding mass of motor and beam. Such configuration forms an equivalent spring mass system. A
speed control unit is used to vary the RPM of motor and the RPM is measured by a Techometer
and displaced on RPM indicator of speed control panel. An amplitude scale is provided to
measure amplitude of vibrations. In addition, a plotter unit which consists of a rotating drum
driven by an AC motor moves the recording paper (attached on drum) at a speed of 8.2 cm/sec is
also provided. A plotting pen is fitted at free end of beam and means are provided such that it

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touches the paper. By switching on the motor, a trace showing oscillatory motion of beam free
end can be find out from the recording paper.

Theory and usefulness of experiment

A vibratory system essentially consists of inertia and mechanism for restoring force e.g. in spring
mass system, mass acts as inertial member and spring provides restoring force. When an
arbitrary force (impulsive force) is applied to the system, it exhibits free oscillation and
frequency of oscillation is known as natural frequency of system. Natural frequency is an inherit
property of the system and independent of amplitude of vibrations. In case of forced vibrations,
when the system vibrates under the action of a periodic force, oscillation frequency governs by
the frequency of the external excitation force. When the excitation frequency matches with the
natural frequency of the system, high amplitude resonating vibrations take place that may lead to
fatigue failure of the system. It is always desirable to keep the natural frequency and excitation
frequency well apart.

Experimental procedure:

1. Arrange the setup as shown in Fig.1.

2. Give an arbitrary vibration to the system through hand and record the natural frequency
and amplitude of system using plotter unit (it can also be measured by using slow motion
camera).
3. Start the DC motor at minimum rotational speed and allow the system to vibrate. Wait for
a while for amplitude to build up at the set forcing frequency. Note the RPM displayed on
the control unit and also record the amplitude of the beam using slow motion camera.
4. Now, slowly increase the RPM of the motor and note down second reading of RPM and
amplitude (as explained in step 3).
5. Repeat step 4 for a number of times with minimal increment in the speed and note down
both the RPM and amplitude of vibration. Go up to a maximum value of 500 RPM.
During increasing speed, a high amplitude resonating vibration state will appear, do not
keep this state for a longer period of time, high amplitude vibration may damage the
apparatus.
6. Plot a graph between RPM and amplitude of vibration.

Note: For natural frequency, measure the time period of oscillation in cm from the plot recorded
on the paper, as shown below in Fig.2, and convert the time period in to seconds as per the scale
mentioned.

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 Fig. 2 : Recording paper observation

Observations and Calculations:

N = Rpm
Sr. No. n (no of oscillations) t (time for n oscillations in sec)
1
2
3

Calculations:
𝑡 1
𝑇𝑎𝑐𝑡 = 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡 =
𝑛 𝑇𝑎𝑐𝑡

Tact = Actual Time period in seconds

Sr. No. fact (frequency in RPM/ A (Amplitude of oscillations in

Hz) mm)
1
2
3

Precautions:

1. Wear helmet while performing the experiment.

2. Do not touch the system when it is in vibration.

3. Adjust the tip of pen such that it touches the paper before starting the motor for plotter unit.

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Questions:

1. In case of a simple pendulum, identify inertial and restoring force elements.

2. Are the readings as per your expectation? Justify
3. How many degrees of freedom are presented in the given equivalent system?
4. Comment of the degrees of freedom of
a. a long rigid body in two-dimensional space
b. a long rigid body with a pin joint in two-dimensional space
c. a flexible long body in two-dimensional space

Report Format:

Students will submit a report consists of brief about set up & theory, observations, graphs &
calculations (if required), conclusions and answers of the given questions.