IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

MEng EXAMINATIONS 2010

Part 3
for Students of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

Machine System Dynamics

Thursday, 29th April: 14.00 to 17.00

This paper contains SIX questions. Attempt Question 1 and four others.
The numbers shown by each question are for your guidance; they indicate
approximately how the examiners intend to distribute the marks for this paper.
A Data and Formulæ Book is provided.

This is a CLOSED BOOK Examination

The rest of this page is intentionally blank.

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© 2010 Imperial College London
Page 1 of 7
1. A new front wheel drive diesel car is being developed. During testing it is found
there is an instability in the fuel injection system that results in a cyclic variation in
the volume of fuel delivered. This in turn leads to the instantaneous road speed
varying and consequent passenger discomfort. For reasons that are not
understood, the problem appears to be worst in top gear when the gear ratio is
unity. The amplitude of oscillation peaks when the engine speed is around 1600-
2500 rev/min, and is not seen at other engine speeds in the operating range of up
to 6000 rev/min.
The research department have shown that the instability is related to a torsional
resonance of the drive system that is not directly connected to engine speed.
Therefore there is no clear link between the torsional resonance frequency and the
engine speed at which it is strongly excited. The major inertia in the torsional mode
comes from the crank and flywheel inertia, while the most significant elements of
the flexibility come from the rotational stiffness of the engine mounts and the two
drive shafts. It has been shown that the system may be modelled as the crank and
flywheel inertia, IE, oscillating on a grounded torsional spring comprising the
stiffnesses of the engine mounts, kE, and the two drive shafts, kL and kR in series,
as shown in Figure Q1.
(a) The inertia, IE = 2 kgm2 and the torsional stiffness of the engine mounting
system is 10 kNm/rad. The two drive shafts are 15 mm in diameter and solid
steel; the left hand drive shaft is 300 mm long, while the right hand drive
shaft is 500 mm long. Estimate the natural frequency of the oscillation. [6%]
(b) The maximum power output of the engine at 2500 rev/min is 50 kW.
Calculate the maximum stress in either drive shaft in top gear under these
conditions. The yield strength of the steel used for the drive shafts is 800
MPa. Comment on whether yield is likely to be a problem under these
conditions. [8%]
(c) The torsional oscillation excited by the instability in the fuel injection system
results in the crank/flywheel oscillating at a maximum amplitude of ±30.
Calculate the rotation along each drive shaft and calculate the oscillating
stress in each shaft. [8%]
(d) A drive shaft fails after several months of road testing under typical driving
conditions. Comment on whether the failure is likely to be due to the fatigue
loading introduced by the instability or whether other possible causes should
be investigated. [6%]

IE
kL kR kE

Figure Q1

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2. A uniform rectangular steel I section crane girder extends from a massive concrete
wall as shown in front view in Figure Q2.

Girder Support girder

Beam side view

Concrete wall

Figure Q2
(a) Assuming that the girder is rigidly fixed to the wall, sketch the first and
second mode shapes of the girder in vertical bending when the support beam
is not present. [2%]
(b) A consultant has proposed stiffening the girder to increase its natural
frequencies, by adding a support beam attached to the ground as shown
dotted in Figure Q2. The girder will rest on top of the support beam. Assume
that the general deflection equation for the girder is given by:
v = C1 cosh λx + C2 sinh λx + C3 cos λx + C4 sin λx
Using suitable boundary conditions, show that the natural frequencies of the
girder in bending are given by:
tan λL = tanh λL
where λ4 = ω2Aρ/EI [5%]
(c) By substitution, determine whether (λL)2 = 3.52, 15.4 or 22.4 satisfies the
equation to determine the first natural frequency. [2%]
(d) Sketch the first three expected mode shapes of the girder with its support.
[3%]
(e) Are the natural frequencies predicted from this theory likely to be accurate? If
not, explain whether the measured natural frequencies will be higher or lower
than predicted. [3%]
(f) Comment on whether the support beam is likely to have the desired effect,
and what factors should be considered in the design of the modification. [3%]

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3. A cardboard forming machine can be modelled as a rigid mass M of 850 kg
supported on four suspension springs, one at each corner, and each of vertical
stiffness 55 kN/m. The mass M is distributed symmetrically about the geometric
centre of the machine. When the machine is used under normal operating
conditions, an internal mechanism generates a sinusoidal vertical force at the
constant running speed of 170 rev/min, leading to poor performance.
(a) Sketch the single degree of freedom Frequency Response Function for the
machine in the vertical direction as a Bode Plot, and mark the frequency of
the excitation force. [2%]
(b) A tuned dynamic absorber of mass m and stiffness k is proposed as a
solution to reduce the vibration. To what frequency should the absorber be
tuned? Sketch the expected Frequency Response Function with the
absorber attached for the same measurement location as in (a). [3%]
(c) An accelerometer is placed on top of the machine, and an impact hammer
used to apply a vertical force to the absorber mass. The data is processed
using an FFT analyser to measure the Frequency Response. Sketch the
expected Bode and Nyquist plots for this measurement. [4%]
(d) Set up the equations of motion for the new system, and form the equation
that will give the natural frequencies of the combined system in terms of the
masses and stiffnesses. [4%]
(e) Explain how the ratio of the absorber, mass, m, to the machine mass M
affects the natural frequencies, and suggest what factors should be
considered in selecting m. [5%]

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4. (a) It is necessary to measure the strain:
(i) at the root of a high pressure turbine blade in a fatigue test (the blade is
not rotating in the test).
(ii) on the deck of an oil tanker during a voyage.

List the factors to be considered in selecting transducers for each application

and discuss which are the most important considerations in each case. [8%]

(b) (i) A data acquisition system is set to capture 1024 points at a sample rate
of 51.2 kHz . A time signal is input whose (true) spectrum varies linearly
from unity at dc (0 Hz) to zero at 30 kHz as shown in Figure Q4. Sketch
the spectrum that will be produced if Fourier analysis is performed on
the resulting sampled data. Mark key frequencies clearly on the sketch.
[6%]

1
Amplitude
(volts/Hz)

0
0 30
Frequency (kHz)

Figure Q4

(ii) What two steps are commonly employed to avoid the problems of the
analysis of (i)? [2%]

(iii) How can a true representation of the full spectrum of (i) be obtained?
[2%]

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Page 5 of 7
5. (a) Explain what a root locus plot is and how it is used in the analysis of control
systems. [3%]
(b) The following Matlab script is written
J=30;
c=20;
num=1;
den=[J,c,0];
rlocus(num,den)

(i) Explain what the script does, and sketch the resulting output, marking
key values carefully. [9%]
(ii) How would you modify the script to investigate the effect of proportional-
integral (PI) control on the system when the value of the proportional
control constant is 10 Nm/rad? [6%]

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6. (a) Explain why it is important to consider the disturbance response of a control
system. [2%]
(b) Show how a disturbance may be represented in the block diagram of a
control system and show how the diagram may be modified to assist the
calculation of the transfer function between the output and the disturbance
input. [3%]
(c) Figure Q6(a) shows the response of a system with a proportional controller to
a ramp input. It is decided that the steady state error is unacceptable. A trial
modification to the controller produces the response of Figure Q6(b).
Suggest how this may have been achieved, justifying your answer with
reference to typical effects of different controllers. Give a quantitative
estimate of the extent of the modification. [5%]
(d) It is decided that the steady state error of Figure Q6(b) is still unacceptable.
A further modification to the controller of Figure Q6(b) produces the response
of Figure Q6(c). Suggest how this may have been achieved, again justifying
your answer with reference to typical effects of different controllers. [3%]
(e) The response of Figure Q6(c) is much improved, but it is decided that the
initial oscillations continue for too long. Suggest how the improvement seen
in Figure Q6(d) may have been achieved, again justifying your answer with
reference to typical effects of different controllers. [3%]
(f) Discuss the practical constraints on implementing a controller with a large
derivative control constant. [2%]
5 5

4
(a) 4
(b)
3 3
Rotation (deg)

Rotation (deg)

2 2

1 1

0 0

-1 -1
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (sec) Time (sec)
5 5

4
(c) 4
(d)
3
Rotation (deg)

3
Rotation (deg)

2 2

1 1

0 0

-1 -1
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (sec) Time (sec)

Figure Q6. Dotted line is input (desired response); solid line is actual response.

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