Damping

A damper is assumed to have neither mass nor elasticity

damping force exists only if there is relative velocity between the two ends of the damper.

Damping Coefficient
Quantifies the amount of energy dissipation in a vibrating system.

A higher value means a stronger damping effect, where the system loses more energy per
unit of velocity.

The damping coefficient depends heavily on the materials that make up the damper or the
structural components of the system.

• Rubber and polymers have relatively higher damping properties due to internal
friction and molecular interactions.

• Metallic materials, on the other hand, may have lower intrinsic damping, especially
under high-frequency vibrations.

Viscous damping
is a type of damping where the resistive force of fluid is proportional to the velocity of the
vibrating object.

the faster the object moves, the greater the damping force.

C = viscous damping coefficient (depends on the material and medium)

The negative sign indicates that the damping force opposes the direction of motion
(resisting the movement).

Examples - fluid film between sliding surfaces, fluid flow around a piston in a cylinder, fluid
flow through an orifice, and fluid film around a journal in a bearing.

The coefficient C here is related to the viscosity and the geometry of the damping
element (such as the size of the damper or fluid resistance).
 damping coefficient has units of N·s/m (Newton-seconds per meter).

Frictional Damping (Coulomb or Dry-Friction Damping)

The damping force depends on the friction between two surfaces

rubbing surfaces that either are dry or have insufficient lubrication.

coefficient is influenced by the surface roughness, material properties, and

contact pressure between the surfaces.

Structural Damping (Material / Solid / Hysteretic Damping)

refers to the internal energy loss within a solid material when it is deformed
repeatedly (like in a vibrating structure).

the internal friction in materials or energy loss during deformation.

microscopic movement between the bolt and plate resists vibration.

the internal crystal lattice experiences microscopic delays or resistance — this

creates structural damping.

Hysteresis Loop
The area of this loop denotes the energy lost per unit vol ume of the body per cycle due to
damping.
Damping Ratio
Damping Ratio calculated by logarithmic decrement

is the ratio of the actual damping of the system to the critical damping.

Critical damping is the amount of damping that will allow the system to return to
equilibrium as quickly as possible without oscillating.

There are three types of damping based on the system's damping ratio (ζ\zetaζ):

Underdamped can lead to uncomfortable or unsafe oscillations

Overdamped can slow the system down unnecessarily.

Frequency ratio

tells us how close the external vibration is to the system’s natural frequency. This matters
because when:

r ≈ 1 → Resonance occurs! The amplitude gets huge.

Amplitude decreases as r>1

The system's inertia resists the rapidly changing direction of the external force, so it doesn’t
respond much — kind of like trying to shake a massive object back and forth really fast.

At r=0 – no excitation frequency

Magnification Factor / Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF)

Tells you how much the steady-state amplitude of a vibrating system is amplified when it’s
subjected to harmonic (sinusoidal) excitation.

At r=0 (no excitation frequency) - MF=1 (no amplification, just free vib)

At r =1 (resonance) – MF = Max and inversely proportional to damping

To Reduce Vibration

1. Shock absorbers
In vehicles, critical damping provides the smoothest ride by preventing oscillations after
hitting a bump.
They are mechanical devices filled with oil or gas that resist sudden motion. They convert
kinetic energy into heat, calming the movement of springs and suspensions.

2. Vibration Isolators / Shock Mounts

They’re often rubber, springs, or air cushions placed between a vibrating base and a
sensitive device

Shock mounts (also called vibration mounts or isolation mounts) are mechanical devices
designed to:

• Absorb shocks (sudden forces or impacts)

• Isolate vibrations from transferring between components

They’re typically made from rubber, elastomers, or other flexible materials and are placed
between a vibrating source and its support structure.

3. Seismic Dampers
Seismic load is the force or stress applied to a structure (like a building, bridge, etc.) due to
ground motion during an earthquake.

Metallic Yielding Dampers A steel element deforms plastically during motion — absorbs
energy.

4. Tuned Mass Dampers

A counterweight moves opposite to the building’s sway in tall structures.

A heavy mass is installed near the top of a building or bridge. It’s connected with springs
and dampers.

When the building sways, the mass moves in the opposite direction, cancelling out some of
the motion.

Its natural frequency is tuned to match the structure’s frequency, especially the dominant
mode of vibration.
Discrete or lumped system (Finite DOFs)
Distribute system/ continuous (infinite DOFs)
Elastic body can move independently (in a way), depending on external forces and
material behavior. So, when you move or load an elastic beam, you're not just displacing a
single point — you’re deforming the whole shape, meaning every point on it changes
position.

Elastic structures = Infinite DOFs

Multiple mass points

Free & Forced Vibration

Free vibration (disturbed and left on its own)

Forced vibration (external force after regular time interval)

Resonance ( External force frequency becomes equal to natural freq) (Infinite amplitude)

Resonance
If the frequency of the external force coincides with one of the natural frequencies of the
system, a condition known as resonance occurs, and the system undergoes dangerously
large oscillations

Linear Vibration
• In simpler terms, in linear systems, the force applied and the displacement
produced are directly proportional.

• Damped harmonic oscillator count as linear system

• A harmonic oscillator refers to a system that experiences a restoring force
proportional to /its displacement (e.g., a spring or a pendulum in small oscillations).
The system oscillates in a sinusoidal (sine or cosine) pattern, and it repeats its
motion periodically.
• Superposition principle is applied
Superposition Principle
In a linear system, the total response caused by multiple inputs acting at the same time is
equal to the sum of the responses caused by each input acting alone.

Non-Linear Vibration
• relationship between forces and displacements is not proportional and may depend on
factors such as amplitude or velocity.
• If you apply a large force to a system, the deformation may no longer be small enough to
assume linear behavior.
• For example, in beams or plates subjected to large deformations, the relationship
between displacement and force might no longer be simple or linear.

Controlled and uncontrolled frequency

Deterministic and Random Vibration

When excitation force is known – Deterministic

When random excitation – example wind velocity, earthquake, road roughness

Spring Element
• Any elastic or deformable body or member, such as a cable, bar, beam, shaft or
plate, can be considered as a spring

• A spring is a type of mechanical link

• In most applications, spring is assumed to have negligible mass and damping.
 • Helical coil spring is common type

• The work done (U) in deforming a spring is stored as strain or potential energy in the
spring

Spring Constant – deflects unit deflection upon elongation/compression

• Individual spring is linear

• Two or more Springs shows non-linear deflection, but this can be replaced by
linear deflection by adopting a procedure

Spring in Series
The same force acts on each spring so displacement adds

Spring in Parallel
Each spring experiences the same displacement.

(Keq = K1 + K2 +K3)

Bearing to increase natural freq

A bearing is a mechanical component thats support rotating parts (like shafts) and reduces
friction between moving parts

Bearings constrain motion and add stiffness to the system:

• This changes the system’s natural frequency.

 • A stiffer bearing increases the frequency.

• If improperly selected, they can lower natural frequency, making resonance more
likely.

Harmonic Oscillations
• The motion is perfectly sinusoidal (like a cosine/sine wave).
• The time period is strictly constant, because it's governed by precise physical laws.

• Simple Harmonic Motion - acceleration proportional to the displacement and

directed toward the mean position.

Phase Angle
In oscillatory motion, the phase angle (ϕ) describes how out of sync or aligned the
oscillation is with a reference point or other oscillations

If you have spring moving up and down:

• If ϕ=0 The spring starts at its maximum position (fully stretched or compressed).

• If ϕ=π/2 The spring starts at zero position (the middle) but is moving the fastest.

Why Phase Angle Matters:

1. In Multiple Systems: If you have several vibrating things (like springs or motors), the
phase angle shows how they relate to each other — are they moving together or
opposite to each other?

2. For Driven Vibrations: If something is forcing the system to vibrate (like an engine or
machine), the phase angle shows how the force and the system’s movement are
timed.

Beats in Vibration
• Beats occur when two harmonic motions with frequencies that are close to one
another are combined.
 • When two freq combines the amplitudes varies for 0 to 2*Amplitude

• The beat frequency is the rate at which the amplitude varies (i.e., the rate at which
the wave "builds up" and "dies down").

• The beat frequency is given by δ/2 (the difference between the frequencies of the
two waves, divided by 2).

• When external driving frequency is close to the natural frequency of a structure or

machine, you can experience a resonant response. If the frequencies are not the
same but close, you might see this "beating" effect.

• This can lead to - Increased wear and tear and potential damage if the oscillations
grow too large.

Harmonic Excitations
The response of harmonic excitations is also harmonic with same frequency of excitations.

Examples-

1. Vibration by unbalanced rotating machine

2. Vibration of tall buildings due to steady wind
3. Vertical motion of vehicle on sinusoidal road

Response of Vib System

• depends on the initial conditions as well as the external excitations
• time dependent

Particular Solution – is response to forced excitations

Homogenous Solution – free vibrations sys and will die out

Transient State - The part of oscillation due to free vib that dies out

Steady State – The state of oscillation after transient state that remains steady due to
forced vib
Application of Forced Vibration
1. Rotating unbalance
2. Base Excitation
3. Vibration Measurement devices

Uneven Mass/Load on Motors

When a motor or a rotating machine has uneven mass distribution (say, an off-center
mass or an unbalanced rotor), it causes the machine to vibrate.

• Imagine a washing machine with all the clothes stuck on one side of the drum.

• As the drum spins, the center of mass shifts, and a cyclic force is generated — like
the drum is "pulling" harder in one direction each turn.

This creates a rotating unbalanced force that repeats sinusoidally (because it's periodic
and follows a smooth waveform).

If the mass is rotating in a horizontal plane, the vertical component of this force changes
sinusoidally as the unbalanced mass spins. Think of it like a spinning top that's wobbling
up and down.
Quality Factor
system’s ability to store energy versus lose energy per cycle.

Imagine a mass-spring-damper system:

• When displaced and released, it oscillates at its natural frequency.

• If there's low damping, the oscillations continue for a long time.

• If there's high damping, the motion dies out quickly.

Here, the Q factor tells how long those oscillations will persist.

Causes of Vibration in Industry

Piezoelectric accelerometers

FFT Fast fourier transform to convert time domain in freq to analyse