MACHINE VIBRATION

Definition

Vibration is the oscillatory motion of bodies in response to disturbance. A vibratory system

involves the transfer of potential energy to kinetic energy and vice-versa in alternating fashion.

Instances of vibration

I. Vehicles- residual imbalance of engines, locomotive wheels

II. Rotating machinery- turbines, pumps, fans, reciprocating machines
III. Human body- vocal cords, walking and running
IV. Musical instruments

Effects of excessive vibration

I. Noise
II. Loosening of fasteners
III. Tool chatter
IV. Fatigue failure
V. Discomfort
Vibration can accelerate machine wear, (i) consume excess power, and (ii) cause
equipment to be taken out of service, resulting in unplanned downtime. Other effects of
vibration include (iii) safety issues and diminished working conditions. When measured
and analyzed properly, however, vibration can play an important role in preventive
maintenance programs. It can serve as an indicator of machine condition and allow
plant maintenance professionals to act before damage or disaster strike.

Consider these variables when analyzing vibration:

i. Direction, such as radial or axial

ii. Amplitude, severity
iii. Frequency, expressed in cycles per minute (CPM) or Hertz (Hz)—one Hz equals one
second, or 60 CPM

Plant maintenance technicians need to be able to differentiate between normal and abnormal
vibration. A good understanding of vibration basics and the right tool is all a plant maintenance
technician needs to quickly and reliably get to the bottom of vibration-related issues, including
finding the root cause and severity, then determining the need for service or repair.

Types of vibration

There are 3 types of Vibration:

i. Free or Natural
This is defined as when no external force acts on the body, after giving it an initial
displacement, then the body is said to be under free or natural vibration. The frequency
of free or natural vibration is called free or natural frequency.
 It is observed that the amplitude keeps decreasing with respect to the time shown in the
above diagram.

ii. Forced vibration

When the body vibrates under the influence of external force, the body is said to under
forced vibrations. The external force is applied to the body is a periodic distributing
force created by unbalance. This has the same frequency as the applied force.

Here It is observed that the amplitude remains constant with respect to the time shown
in the above diagram.

iii. Damped Vibration

When there is a reduction in amplitude over every cycle of vibration, the motion is said
to be damped vibration.

It is observed that the amplitude reduces abruptly with respect to the time shown in the
above diagram.
Vibration parameters

i. Period of vibration- It is the time interval after which the motion is repeated. The period
of vibration is usually expressed in seconds.
ii. Cycle- it is the motion completed during one time period.
iii. Frequency- It is the number of cycles described in one second (Hertz). One cycle per
second.
iv. Amplitude- the maximum displacement of a vibrating body from the mean position.
v. Natural frequency- When no external force acts on the body it is said to be under free or
natural vibration.
vi. Resonance- When the frequency of external force is equal to the natural frequency of the
system then the system starts vibrating with highest amplitude.
vii. Damping- Resistance to the motion of vibrating body
viii. Transmissibility- Is the ratio of output to input. Transmissibility: means amplification
and maximum amplification occurs when forcing frequency and natural frequency of
the system coincide. There is no unit designation for transmissibility, although it may
sometimes be referred to as the Q factor.

Cause of vibration

Vibration can indicate a problem and if left unchecked can cause damage or expedited
deterioration. Vibration can be caused by one or more factors at any given time, the most
common being imbalance, misalignment, wear and looseness.

i. Imbalance - A "heavy spot" in a rotating component will cause vibration when the
unbalanced weight rotates around the machine's axis, creating a centrifugal force.
Imbalance could be caused by manufacturing defects (machining errors, casting flaws)
or maintenance issues (deformed or dirty fan blades, missing balance weights). As
machine speed increases the effects of imbalance become greater. Imbalance can severely
reduce bearing life as well as cause undue machine vibration.
ii. Misalignment /shaft runout - Vibration can result when machine shafts are out of line.
Angular misalignment occurs when the axes of (for example) a motor and pump are not
parallel. When the axes are parallel but not exactly aligned, the condition is known as
parallel misalignment. Misalignment can be caused during assembly or develop over
time, due to thermal expansion, components shifting or improper reassembly after
maintenance. The resulting vibration can be radial or axial (in line with the axis of the
machine) or both.
iii. Wear - As components such as ball or roller bearings, drive belts or gears become worn,
they might cause vibration. When a roller bearing race becomes pitted, for instance, the
bearing rollers will cause a vibration each time they travel over the damaged area. A
gear tooth that is heavily chipped or worn, or a drive belt that is breaking down, can
also produce vibration.
iv. Looseness - Vibration that might otherwise go unnoticed can become obvious and
destructive if the component that is vibrating has loose bearings or is loosely attached to
its mounts. Such looseness might or might not be caused by the underlying vibration.
 Whatever its cause, looseness can allow any vibration present to cause damage, such as
further bearing wear, wear and fatigue in equipment mounts and other components.

Methods of vibration control

The following are the methods can be used to control vibrations:

i. By controlling the natural frequencies of the system and avoiding resonance under
external excitations.
ii. By preventing excessive response of the system, even at resonance by introducing a
damping or energy dissipating mechanism.
iii. By reducing the transmission of the excitation forces from one part of the machine to
another by use of isolators
iv. By using the response of the system by addition of an auxiliary mass neutralizer or
vibration absorber.

Vibration Control

Passive Active
method method

Feedback
control Feedforward
control
Vibration
Vibration Structural
isolation design

Passive
Tuned and active vibration
Dampingcontrol
Collocated Non-collocated
dampers
Vibration control can bematerials
split up into passive and control
active methods. Active methods require an
control
external power source whereas passive methods do not.
Passive vibration control methods directly deal with the physical properties of a mechanical
structure like stiffness, mass, and damping. Passive vibration control often is a matter of clever
(re)design of the mechanical structure.

Active vibration control is based on the use of sensors, actuators and electronics, cooperating
such that possible errors that may occur within a machine are anticipated or compensated for.
Piezo-electrical sensors and actuators play an important role in this sense

Collocated control

By combining the actuator and the sensor into a single structural element, it is possible to apply
a special kind of feedback control known as collocated control.

In the theory, collocated control enables to actively implement the behavior of a passive
mechanical structure.

In practice, collocated control is often used to implement robust active damping.

i. Reduction of excitation at the source

Example;
-Balancing of unbalanced inertia- rotors, engines
-Changing the flow characteristics for flow induced vibrations.
-Reduced friction
 ii. Isolation of the source
-Modify the transmission path of vibration between source and the system to protect the
system.
Example; Insertion of resilient elements, e.g Springs, dampers, visco-elastic materials,
pneumatic suspension e.t.c between the source and the system.
iii. System modification
A large number of methods exist in this group including detuning, decoupling, using
additive damping treatments (constrained and unconstrained), stiffeners and massive
blocks (as foundation)

General requirements for machine foundations

1. The foundation should be able to carry the superimposed loads without causing shear or
crushing failure.

2. The settlements should be within the permissible limits.

3. The combined centre of gravity of machine and foundation should, as far as possible, be in
the same vertical line as the centre of gravity of the base plane.

4. No resonance should occur, hence the natural frequency of the foundation–soil system should
be either too large or too small compared to the operating frequency of the machine. For low-
speed machines, the natural frequency should be high.

5. The amplitudes under service conditions should be within permissible limits which are
prescribed by the machine manufacturers.

6. All rotating and reciprocating parts of a machine should be so well balanced as to minimize
the unbalanced forces or moments.

Vibration measuring instruments