Vibrations Laboratory

Catalog description

Experimental measurement and analysis of mechanical system dynamics. This laboratory course provides an opportunity to apply the fundamental vibrations theory taught in ME 370 to actual mechanical hardware. The experiments illustrate fundamental concepts from an experimental vibration perspective. Experimental vibration measurement methods are applied to estimate simplified dynamic models for vibrating mechanical systems. The students compare analytical to experimental results to gain a sense of the limitations of both modeling and experimentation. Experiments include: free vibration of linear and nonlinear systems, response, measurement of translational and rotational, forced harmonic vibration, spectral analysis of vibration signals, experimental data uncertainty and comparison of finite element model dynamic results to experimental data. Throughout the course the students will: 1. Plan, implement and debug instrumentation to measure vibrations of mechanical systems. 2. Implement experimental test systems using vibration transducers and data acquisition to maximize measurement quality. 3. Recognize the dominant behavior seen in many larger, more complicated engineering systems. 4. Estimate the system vibration parameters 5. Use software to compare measured and predicted dynamic behavior. 6. Recognize dominant nonlinear behavior and implement a nonlinear simulation using software. 7. Verify the results of computer analyses of dynamic systems by various methods including experimental measurement and analytical modeling.