What Is Resonance?

James WrenMay 23, 2007 popular, signal processing, Top Ten Articles of 2012, Top Ten Articles
of 2013, Top Ten Articles of 2015 34 Comments
We hear the word used a lot, but what is resonance? First, in order to explain we have to explain
the terms we will use.

A period is the amount of time it takes to complete one cycle

The number of cycles in one second is the frequency of an oscillation.

Frequency is measured in Hertz, named after the 19th-century German physicist Heinrich
Rudolf Hertz

One Hertz is equal to one cycle per second.

What Is Resonance?
A resonance occurs when a structure or material naturally oscillates at a high amplitude at a
specific frequency. This frequency is known as a structural resonant frequency. Typically a
structure will have many resonant frequencies.
A dictionary definition of resonance gives us
the state of a system in which an abnormally large vibration is produced in response to an
external stimulus, occurring when the frequency of the stimulus is the same, or nearly the same,
as the natural vibration frequency of the system.
When the damping in a structure is small, the resonant frequencies are approximately equal to
the natural frequencies of the structure, which are the frequencies of free vibrations of the
molecules of the material itself.
Furthermore, an individual resonance is the condition when a natural frequency of a structure or
material and the frequency at which it is being excited are equal or very nearly equal. This results
in the structure or material vibrating strongly and is the classical resonance state. This resonance
state can often lead to unexpected behaviour of the structure or material.
The lowest natural frequency, often called the fundamental frequency, is related to the material of
which the structure is made. The greater the mass or density of the material the lower the
fundamental frequency of vibration. The natural frequency is also related to the speed that a
waveform can propagate through the structure. This is determined largely by the molecular make
up of the material. Gas, for example, has many free molecules with high kinetic energy, so the

waveform can move quickly through the material. A solid has far fewer free molecules and is
much denser, therefore the waveform moves more slowly.
In order to measure a resonance of a structure or material with a Prosig P8000 data acquisition
system and DATS Professional signal processing software it is necessary to attach an
accelerometer to the structure. It is then required to excite or stimulate the structure with the
frequencies that it is normally exposed to in its working life. For example, an automotive car tyre
would need to be subject to the frequencies it would encounter whilst in use. This would
normally be accomplished by use of a shaker or a large heavy hammer. The tyre for example
would need to be tested in isolation, and not connected to anything else like the vehicle
suspension or wheel rim as these other parts have their own resonant frequencies and would
make the capture and analysis of the tyre resonant frequency difficult.
The measured response from the accelerometer will be relative to the excitation and will only
exhibit frequencies that are present in the excitation. The excitation must be an acceptable
representation of the normal working frequencies applied to the structure or material. If the
structure has a resonance in this frequency range there will be a large peak in the response
spectrum. The frequency of this peak will correspond to one of the resonant frequencies of the
structure or material. If no peak is detected then the resonant frequencies lie outside the operating
range of the structure or material. In order to find the resonant frequencies of a structure or
material it may be necessary to apply a wider range of frequency excitation.

Figure 1
Figure 1 shows a frequency spectrum, this spectrum is a response of a structure to its excitation.
A large spike can clearly be seen at approximately 250 Hz.

Figure 2
Figure 2 shows a frequency spectrum, this spectrum as in Figure 1 shows a frequency response.
However, Figure 2 shows, using cursors, the exact frequency of the resonance. In this case the
resonant frequency is 245 Hz.
This means that this structure should probably not be used if in its working life it will be exposed
to this frequency. Figure 2 also shows that if this structure was to be used, and only exposed to
300Hz to 400 Hz or perhaps 0Hz to 200Hz , this particular resonant frequency would not be
excited, and therefore the structure would not vibrate abnormally.

What is Resonance? (Part 2)

James WrenAugust 20, 2012 signal processing 10 Comments

This article is a follow on from What Is Resonance? (Part 1) and answers some of the issues not
covered in that post.
How do you find the resonant frequency in the real world? What do you do when there is a
situation with multiple peaks in the frequency domain data? How do you know the frequency
you have found is a resonant frequency?
To answer any and all of the above questions can often be very simple, but sometimes, not so.
Often there is a single clear peak in the frequency domain data that is easy to pick out, but
sometimes there are many peaks. How do you find what youre looking for in this case?
First, we have to explain what we are studying. In this article we will look at frequency response
functions and how they are used to find a resonant or resonant frequencies.
For example, if we have a frequency response function from a hammer impact test, how do we
find the resonance?
If we look at the magnitude or modulus part of the frequency response function in a raw format
well see something like that shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Modulus part of frequency response function

There is only one peak in this case, but how do we know for sure this is the resonance?
From the signal shown in Figure 1 we cannot say. We can make a best guess based on our
understanding of the structure or part under test, but that is all.
So what do we need to make a judgement? The answer is phase.
With both the modulus and the phase it is possible to make a decision upon which frequency is
the resonant frequency.
If we look closely at the modulus and phase signals shown in Figure 2, we can see the frequency
peak, but we can also see a peak in the corresponding phase.

Figure 2: Modulus & phase part of the frequency response function

In Figure 3 we have zoomed in on the x scale to see the data more clearly. It is now possible to
pick out the peak at 1758Hz. We have highlighted it using the DATS cursor marker function.

Figure 3: Modulus & phase of frequency response function (x scale zoomed)

Pay careful attention to the plots of the peak and it is clear to see that the peak at 1758Hz does
have a corresponding phase switch of 180 degrees. This is a classic sign of a resonance, a large
peak associated with a flipping in phase.
Generally, an engineer will not see data this clear or obvious, but this article is intended to show
the concept of how you would find a resonance in a simple system.

Figure 4: Modulus & phase of frequency response function (modulus shown on log scale)
Further plots of this form would classically be shown on a logarithmic scale (or log scale for
short). Figure 4 shows the same data on a log scale. Here both the resonance and the anti

resonance are shown. The anti resonance was not visible at all on the linear scale, but shows
itself and its phase inversion clearly in the log scale at 1689Hz. If not for viewing the data in the
logarithmic form, this additional information would have been missed by visual inspection.

Further Reading & Viewing

Resonance
via Prosig

What Is Resonance? (Part 1)

A resonance occurs when a structure or material naturally oscillates at a high amplitude at a
specific frequency. This frequency is known as a structural resonant frequency. Typically a
structure will have many resonant frequencies.
Resonance
via Prosig

5 Videos That Explain Resonance

Since resonance is such an important concept in noise & vibration measurement we thought wed
see what videos we could find to illustrate the phenomenon. So, here are 5 videos that show
various aspects of resonance.
Resonance
via Prosig

A Simple Frequency Response Function

This article attempts to explain the basic theory of the frequency response function. This basic
theory will then be used to calculate the frequency response function between two points on a
structure using an accelerometer to measure the response and a force gauge hammer to measure
the excitation.
The following two tabs change content below.

What Is Resonance? (Part 3)

James WrenJuly 17, 2013 signal processing, tutorials 6 Comments
In the previous two articles (What Is Resonance? (Part 1) & What Is Resonance (Part 2)) in this
series we have looked at how we can identify a resonant frequency. Now we will discuss what
happens next. What do we do when the resonant frequency of a structure has been found? We
will also look at some potential ways of dealing with a resonance is in a structure, body or piece
of equipment.
First, it is necessary to understand what a resonance is. A resonance occurs when the natural
frequency of a structure is excited by an input. If the frequency of the input matches the natural
frequency of the structure, that is the excitation frequency matches the natural frequency, then a
resonance occurs.
Generally, performing a test like a hammer impact test on a structure or capturing a run-up or
run-down will enable the natural frequency to be observed.
A natural frequency is the frequency of free vibration of a structure at which the structure
vibrates to dissipate energy. The natural frequency ( ) of a structure, expressed in radians per
second, is a function of its stiffness ( ) and its mass ( ), as shown by the following equation:

If either the ( ) or ( ) parameters are altered, then the natural frequency will change.
If you want to modify the natural frequency of a structure, then you need to change either the
stiffness ( ) or the mass ( ). Increasing the mass or lowering the stiffness will lower the natural
frequency while reducing mass or increasing stiffness will increase natural frequency.
In summary

Increasing mass or decreasing stiffness will reduce the natural frequency

Decreasing mass or increasing stiffness will increase the natural frequency

Sometimes it is not possible to change the mass or stiffness of a structure. So how can we solve a
resonance problem?
Several options are possible, but there are two common and relatively simple solutions.
The first option would be to change the operating speed of the equipment. This will move the
operational range away from the natural frequency. In basic terms, you are changing the
excitation frequency and moving it away from the natural frequency. Depending on the natural
frequency and the frequencies of operation of the equipment this may require only a small

change in speed. In other cases it might require such a large change in speed that it is not
possible for operational reasons.

Figure 1: Operational speed exciting resonant frequency

For example, Figure 1 shows the response of the equipment (red curve) at a certain speed. The
black curve shows the natural response of the structure when the equipment is at rest. It is clear
that we are exciting the natural frequency of the equipment at around 400Hz.

Figure 2
By changing the running speed of the equipment we can change the frequency of the excitation.
So by avoiding the natural frequency we reduce magnitude of the vibration. In figure 2 we see
that by reducing the excitation frequency from 400Hz to around 365Hz we have significantly
reduced the overall vibration.

Figure 3:
The second solution is to install a dynamic absorber (as shown in Figure 3) . This significantly
reduces the vibration levels. The dynamic absorber is usually a spring-mass system that is
installed in series with the resonant system to create an out-of-phase exciting force to effectively
counteract the initial excitation force.