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2019 - 2020 Past Paper

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55 views4 pages

2019 - 2020 Past Paper

Uploaded by

hillary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS 2019/2020

FIFTH YEAR EXAMINATIONS FOR DEGREE OF


BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING.

FME 513 MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS.

DATE: TIME:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Attempt Question 1 and Any other 2 questions ONLY.


2. Question 1 marked out of 30 marks while all other
questions are marked out of 20 marks.
3. Show all working clearly.

1
Question 1 (Compulsory)

a) What is mechanical vibrations and what are the necessary conditions


that are required for a mechanical system to vibrate (4marks)
b) What are the three types of vibrations and how do they differ from
each other in terms of their excitation and response (6marks)
c) What do you understand by the term natural mode(s) of vibration of a
system and why is it important to determine these value(s)
(5marks)
d) What is do you understand by the term system modeling of vibratory
system and what are the system characteristics that are determined
when a system is modeled before the analysis (6marks)
e) What are continuous systems in the study of mechanical vibration and
how do they differ from say 2 DOF vibratory systems (2marks)
f) What are self-excited vibration systems and how do they differ from
the common vibration system in terms of both excitation and
response. Very briefly describe the two major types of self- excitation
(7marks)

Question 2
a) What do you understand by the term acoustic intensity?
(2marks)
b) Where would you expect the following modes of spreading of sound?
i) Spherical spreading (4marks)
ii) Cylindrical spreading (4marks)

Give also the relationships between the sound pressure P and the distance
from the source R1 to R2 for each of the above cases
c) Explain the need to do the following when carrying out sound
measurements.
i) Weighting of sound signal (3marks)
ii) Frequency analysis ( 3marks)
d) What precautions do you need to observe when calibrating a sound
measuring instrument. ( 4marks)

2
Question 3

Elevated water tanks usually called water towers are a common feature in
daily life. These towers are used to store water for supply at predetermined
pressure. In their design they consist of a steel or concrete structure
supporting a platform on which the water tank sits or a concrete tube
supporting a relatively large concrete tank respectively. Most of these towers
are in places where they are subjected to vibration excitation from the
ground e.g. towers on factory grounds, beside roads etc. It is paramount
therefore to study their vibration characteristics to be able to predict their
loading behavior.
Since the structures are symmetrical about their vertical axis and their
support structure cross-sectional area is small as compared to that of the
tank, they can be modeled as vertical rods with axial excitation carrying a
large mass M fixed at the top. For this model the equation of motion is of
the form
   
 E A(x ) U (x, t ) =  (x ) U (x, t )
x  x 

Assuming a synchronous motion U(x,t), support structure is of uniform


cross-sectional area and of homogenous material
a) Establish the relevant boundary conditions of the system (4marks)
b) Find the equations for the modes of vibrations of the system
(16marks)

Question 4
A stalled vehicle is being towed by a breakdown towing vehicle by use of a
flexible steel cable. This cable can be modeled as a horizontally disposed
string of length l fixed on both ends. If this string is also of linear density
ρ(x) and is under tension T(x) find:
a) From first principle expression for the wave equation (6marks)
b) Assuming the string is of uniform linear density ρ0 and under uniform
tensionT0 for a separable general solution of form y(x,t)=Y(x)F(t)
find the expressions for the modal shapes and the natural frequencies
of vibrations (14marks)

3
Question 5
a) State the langrage equation for a system undergoing free vibrations
(2marks)
b) A vibrating system can be modeled as two masses M and m connected as
shown in Fig.Q5 where the smaller mass m is free to swing about its
attachment point O.
i) By use of the langrage method determine the equations of motion of
the system (15marks)

ii) By writing the above equations in Matrix form determine the type of
coupling which exists in the system (3marks)

x
(

K
M
θ

Fig. Q5

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