Mechanical Vibration (ME

315)
Spring 2023

LECTURE NO: 03

Dr. Taimoor Hassan

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

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Vibration analysis procedure

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 Undamped Free Vibration
A simple undamped spring-mass system, which is assumed to
move only along the vertical direction is shown in the Figure.
It has one degree of freedom (DOF), because its motion is
described by a single coordinate x.
When placed into motion, oscillation will take place at the
natural frequency, which is a property of the system.
As shown in Figure the deformation of the spring in the static
equilibrium position is Δ.
From the free-body diagram, it can be observed that the spring
force kΔ is equal to the gravitational force w acting on mass m:

(  )  Fy 0
 k  w 0
k w
k mg
By measuring the displacement x from the static equilibrium position, the force acting on m are k(Δ + x) and w.
With x chosen to be positive in the downward direction, all quantities – force, velocity and acceleration – are also
positive in the downward direction.
We now apply Newton’s second law of motion to the mass m:

 F ma

 F mx

 w  k (  x) mx

 w  k  kx mx

and because kΔ = w, we obtain

mx  kx

It is evident that the choice of the static equilibrium position as reference for x has eliminated w, the force
due to gravity, and the static force kΔ from the equation of motion, and the resultant force on m is simply
the spring force due to the displacement x.
 mx  kx
mx  kx 0

k
x  x 0
m
Rearranging the terms into a “standard form” gives

x  n2 x 0
The constant ωn, generally reported in rad/s, is called the natural frequency, and in this case

k k
n2   n 
m m

When a body is given an initial displacement from its equilibrium position and released, it
will vibrate with the natural frequency, ωn .
 Combination of Springs

In many practical applications, several linear springs are used in combination. These springs can be combined
into a single equivalent spring as indicated below.

To derive an expression for the equivalent spring constant of springs connected in parallel, consider the two
springs shown in Figure – (a).
When a load W is applied, the system undergoes a static deflection δ as shown in Figure - (b).
The free-body diagram is shown in Figure - (c),

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Then the free-body diagram, shown in Figure - (c), gives the equilibrium equation

(  )  Fy 0

k1  k 2  W 0

W k1  k 2

W (k1  k 2 )

W keq

keq Equivalent spring constant k1  k 2

In general, if we have n springs with spring constants k 1, k2,……kn in parallel, then the equivalent spring

constant keq can be obtained:

keq Equivalent spring constant k1  k 2  .........k n

Next, we derive an expression for the equivalent spring
constant of springs connected in series by considering the
two springs shown in Fig. (a).
Under the action of a load W, springs 1 and 2 undergo
elongations δ1 and δ2 respectively, as shown in Fig. (b).

The total elongation (or static deflection) of the system, is

given by
 1   2
Since both springs are subjected to the same force W, we
have the equilibrium shown in Fig. (c):
W k11

W k 2 2

If keq denotes the equivalent spring constant, then for the

same static deflection,

W keq
 The total elongation (or static deflection) of the
system, is given by

 1   2
Substituting these values of δ 1 and δ2 into the

above Equation, we obtain

W
W W W W k11  1 
k1
 
keq k1 k 2 W k 2 2   2 
W
k2
W
W k eq   
W 1 1 keq
W (  )
keq k1 k 2

1 1 1
 
keq k1 k 2

The above equation can be generalized to the

case of n springs in series:

1 1 1 1
   .........
keq k1 k 2 keq
Example:
Solution:

The first step is to replace the parallel combination on the left side of the block by springs of equivalent
stiffness.

The spring on the left of the block are in series with one another and are replaced by a spring of equivalent
stiffness. The springs attached to the right of the block are also in series and are replaced by a spring of
equivalent stiffness.

When the block has an arbitrary displacement x, the displacement in each of the springs of the above figure are
the same, and the total force acting on the block is the sum of the forces developed in the springs. Thus, the
springs behave as if they are in parallel and can be replaced by a spring of equivalent stiffness as shown in the
figure below.
 Example:

To satisfy the requirement of rigidity , we apply the torque-twist relationship

T GJ
 kt (Torsional stiffness)
 L
Solution:
Spring constant of a suspension system
Spring constant of a suspension system
 Simple Pendulum
TASK: Natural Frequency of Simple Pendulum?

Solve For:

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