A Proposal for establishing a Mechanical Vibration
Lab at Swedish College of Engineering & Technology,
Wah Cantt:
Submitted by: Hasan Imam Siddiqui, Lecturer, SCET, Wah Cantt: engr_hasan@scetwah.edu.pk
Submitted To: Dr. Liaquat Najmi, HOD/ Department of Mechanical Engineering, SCET, Wah Cantt:
VISION:
Mechanical Vibration is a very important, practical & applied field of Mechanical Engineering. The
design of beam, truss, high rise buildings, bridges, machine components, automotive parts, aircraft
design & manufacturing, defense related products, space shuttle, design, manufacturing, fabrication &
installation of processing plants, products design & testing, condition monitoring and vibration control
mechanism in static structures & rotating machines including predictive & precision maintenance etc.
utilize the strength of Mechanical Vibration as an important tool in mathematical modeling , synthesis &
analysis of the machine members & structures.
MISSION:
The proposed lab will not only serve the purpose of fulfilling academic needs of the mechanical
engineering students but will also provide a suitable platform for research based experimental projects. It
may also serve the purpose of fulfilling the industrial needs & applications of vibration measurements,
condition monitoring, field balancing, vibration analysis & fault diagnostics of machines and plants at
nearby industries around the Institution.
SCOPE:
This lab has a future potential of rendering great academic & industrial services with its life cycle growth
in the years ahead. It may also contribute towards revenue generation by providing services to the
industries in the relevant field as well.
STRUCTURAL OUTLINE:
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It may consist of the following Test Rigs & accessories to provide a sound base for performing a series of
experiments:
1. Vibration Test Apparatus by GUNT, Germany to be locally manufactured (50 Experiments may be
done by students)
2. A data acquisition System based upon NI Instruments electronics Card installed in the PC suitable
for 1- 28 channels data acquisition which may be used for collecting any experimental datas.
3. Gear Faults Diagnostic Test Rig. It may be designed and fabricated utilizing indigenous resources.
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Bearing Faults Diagnostic Test Rig. It may be designed and fabricated locally.
Vibration Mode Shapes Display Rig which may be designed & fabricated within the institution.
Single Plane & Multi Planes Field Balancing Test Rigs.
Mass, stiffness & damping models.
Single degree of freedom models.
Multi degree of freedom models.
Impact testing models.
Vibration isolation & frequency tuning models.
Effective mass, stiffness & damping models with masses in series & parallel configurations.
Analog Electrical models of Mechanical Components.
Test rig for finding the value of damping factor & damping coefficient of a damper through the
process of Logarithmic decay due to forced excitation.
SELECTION AND SETTING OF A VIBRATION MEASURING
SYSTEM:
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1. Determine carefully where to place the vibration transducer, and its possible
mass-loading effects (Section 6.2).
2. Estimate what types and levels of vibrations that are likely to be present
at the transducer mounting point (periodic vibrations, random vibrations,
shocks).
3. Select the most suitable vibration transducer (accelerometer) considering
items 1 and 2 above as well as environmental factors (temperature, humidity etc.).
4 Determine what type of measurement would be most appropriate for the
problem at hand. (Overall measurement of acceleration, velocity or displacement,
waveform recording, magnetic tape recording, frequency analysis).
5. Select the most suitable electronic equipment, considering frequency and
phase characteristics, dynamic range, and convenience of operation.
6. Check and calibrate the overall system including accelerometer and connecting
Cables.
7. Make a sketch of the instrumentation system with all type numbers and
serial number. Make a sketch of the instrumentation system with all type numbers and
serial numbers included.
8. Select the appropriate accelerometer mounting method, considering vibrations levels, frequency range,
electrical insulation problems and ground loops.
9. Mount the accelerometer onto the structure, carry out the measurements and record the result.
1 0. Note down the setting of the various instrument control knobs.
It is good policy always to check the "back ground noise" level of a vibrationmeasurement system. This can be done by mounting the accelerometers
on a non-vibrating object and measuring the "apparent vibration level of this arrangements.
PROPOSED VIBRATION INSTRUMENTATION & SENSOR WITH
THEIR SPECS :( For more details please consult “A reference book for Vibration & Shock
measurement by B & K, Germany)
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1. Important features of B&K General purpose Portable Vibration Meter, Type; 2511
 Vibration may be measured in acceleration, velocity or displacement scales
 In built high & low pass filter with integration circuit makes the conversion of
vibration into velocity or displacement values.
 By adding a tunable filter, the vibration meter may be converted into frequency
analyzer.
 By adding a level recorder, a hard copy of the frequency analysis may be obtained.
 By adding a photo electric pick up & a phase meter, it can be used for static and
dynamic balancing of machine rotors.
2. Multichannel Vibration Analyzer for real time vibration spectrum analysis of the following types:
(a) High Resolution Signal Analyzer Type 2033
(b) Digital Frequency Analyzer Type 2131
3. B&K Vibroport 80: It can be used as Vibration meter, Vibration Analyzer & as Static & Dynamic
Balancer.
4. B&K Vibration Exciter Type: for forced excitation of machine member/ designed component for
modal analysis, Transfer Function calculations etc.
5. B & K Measuring Amplifire Type 2610: for pre- post amplification of weak signals
6. B & K Signal Conditioners & Charge Amplifiers: For utilization as per requirements of the vibration
measuring systems to be selected from a wide range of applications.
7. B & K Frequency Band Pass Filters: To be selected from a wide ranges of frequency bands as per
requirements.
8. B & K vibration Data Recording Units: Convenient for recording vibration signals in the field or a
number of machines on site or in industries for transient vibration, Shocks & continuous signal
recording.
(a) Portable FM tape recorder Type 7003.
(b) Digital Data Recorder( Two – track Digital Cassette Tape Recorder Type 7400)
(c) X- Y Recorder Type2308 & Level Recorder Type 2307.
9. An Oscilloscope: for displaying different vibration Waveforms.
10. A PC with Printer: Suitable for running MATLAB, FEM, SOLIDEDGE, LAB VIEW, PROENGINEER.
This PC may be utilized as a multichannel continuous data recording & display device by simply
installing an NI 512 electronics card for 8/16/28 channels data in its CPU.
11. B & K Accelerometers & Velocity Pick Ups: A wide variety of these vibration sensors are available
to meet the experimental or general vibration measuring requirements.
Note: This is a Preliminary Report which may be further modified, amended, added/ elaborated
in future. Also a lot of design work, technical & financial feasibility is mandatory. Please give your
feedback in this regard.