Determination of Structural Resonant Frequencies

Performing an Impact or “Bump” Test with the DCA-31

What is a bump test?

In order to evaluate the vibration behavior of machines, it is
often desirable to measure the natural frequencies or
“resonances” inherent in the mechanical structure of the
machine. The classical way of doing this is to impart a
measured force into the structure with an instrumented
hammer, or other vibration exciter, and measure the
response of the structure at the same time the excitation
occurs. The vibration force data are analyzed with a dual-
channel FFT analyzer which calculates the transfer function,
or frequency response function between the two channels.
This is an essential step in the technique of experimental
model analysis.
Fig. 1. The bump test shows structural modes at 52.0 Hz
Usually, in most cases of machine vibration, it is not so and at 113.5 Hz. The mode at 52 Hz is more lightly damped
important to determine the exact magnitude of the transfer than the mode at 113.5 Hz as evidenced by the ratio of the
function; the most important information is in the frequencies width of the hump’s base to its height.
of the modes of vibration of the structure, and to a lesser
extent, the damping associated with these modes. The Bump Test — Simplified.
The machine to be tested should not be running. A vibration
The DCA 31 can be used to perform an impact test without
sensor is placed on the desired machine. If using a triaxial
the need for a special hammer with a force transducer
sensor, you will have to specify the active channel. An
attached. The technique involves simply hitting the structure
impacting device is used to hit the machine in a random
with a suitable impacting device, such as a wooden 2x4, a
manner to excite the structural resonance(s) and allow it to
hard rubber mallet, or in some cases, a sledge hammer. If a
ring. Think of a gong that has just been hit with a mallet.
metal hammer is used, it is a good idea to pad the striking
The gong will produce a tone (ring) at a frequency equal to
surface to avoid introduction of excessively high frequency
its natural frequency.
energy that could damage the machine. This application
note outlines the procedure to do an impact test using a
During the test, the resulting spectra are captured and
DCA 31.
saved in the data collector. Natural frequencies are seen as
high level humps in the vibration spectrum, usually with a
broad base at the bottom. The example shown in Figure 1
shows a machine with two structural modes. After natural
frequencies are identified, steps should be taken to ensure
the machine running speed (1X) and any principal forcing
frequencies (e.g. pump vane rate, compressor thread rate,
gear mesh rate) are not within 10% of the natural frequency.

Note: Prior to starting a bump test, the analyst should locate

a device to deliver a series of impacts to the structure. Your
choice of an impacting device will depend on the mass and
stiffness of the structure and must be able to impart enough
energy to allow the structure to “ring”. The analyst should
also select a suitable location on the structure to mount the
sensor (typically a piezo-accelerometer), and another
location to impact the structure in order to optimize the
response. User
Settings Bump Test User Settings Bump Test

Setting up the DCA 31 for a Bump Change edit position if

Name desired Fmax 200 Hz
Test
Collection Sig Only Lines/Samples 400 / 1024
1. While in real time mode, the DCA 31 can record one axis
Display
at a time. Connect your accelerometer to the machine or format Spectrum Window Rectangular
structure ensuring that it is not near a hollow cavity such as
Units Accel (G) Averages 10
a motor cooling fan cowling.
Coupling ICP Overlap 50%
2. Start the DCA 31 and select the following Instrument Input
Setup settings. Press the soft key for “Apply” when done. channel X Type Spectral
Once back at the main menu, select Data Collection. Ext trigger
Detection RMS slope n/a
Instrument Bump Instrument Bump Sensitivity 100 MV/G Level n/a
Setup Test Setup Test
Hi pass
Memory Internal Date/Time n/a filter 10 Hz Bin Zeroing On
Barcode
Timeout 5 mins Entry n/a
IrDa Disabled Transducer Triax 5. Leave the DCA 31 with the User menu selections open.
This is where you will initiate the start of data collection.
Baud Rate 115,200 Memory n/a
See the next section for performing the impact test
Default Units English Dbase Cache On
Date Format MM/DD/YYYY Purge Cache On Performing the Impact Test
1. Ensure nothing is touching the machine or structure
during the test. Begin to strike the structure. Strike with
3. From the data collection screen, select the soft key approximately the same force each time. Varying the
labeled “Config”. Ensure the following settings are made. amount of force can invalidate the test.
Press the soft key labeled “Apply” when done.
2. From step 5 on the previous page, press either Read-OK
Configuration Bump Test Configuration Bump Test button to initiate the test. The test comes in two parts: auto
Freq Units Hz Acquisition Single Shot range & data collection.
Fast Averaging Auto-ranging
Off Conservative 3. During the auto-range step, strike the structure at a
Machine steady rate of about 2 impacts per second. This step sets
Auto Store
On Speed Normal the amplifier gain to maximize the dynamic range for the
measured response.
Time 1s Settling Delay as needed
Percent 50% Memory N/A 4. Once the data collection step begins, continue to strike
Auto Advance On Fill Signature Off the structure in a random manner (not with a steady striking
Dbase Trig Level Fixed frequency) until the DCA 31 has collected all 10 averages.
Advance Off At this point, the DCA 31 will display the final averaged
spectrum.

4. From the Data Collection Screen, select the soft key Note: While collecting data, if you see the prompt “Input over
labeled “Offroute” and from the next screen select the soft range”, this means the force of your strike has exceeded the
key labeled “User”. Make the following settings in the User instrument settings made during the auto-range portion of
menu. the test. Try to strike with slightly less force during the data

253 Winslow Way West

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 U.S.A.
Tel.: (206) 842-7656 Application Note DCA-31 Bumptest
Fax: (206) 842-7667 © 2004 – DLI Engineering Corp. - All rights reserved.
E-mail: sales@DLIengineering.com Printed in U.S.A.
collection portion than you did during the auto-range portion
of the test.

5. Use the right and left arrow keys to move the cursor
across the x axis to determine the natural frequencies. Use
the up and down arrows to change the scale on the Y axis.
You should see a portion of the spectra that rises out of the
noise floor. If you do not see any humps in the spectrum, try
a wider frequency band (Fmax) in the User setup menu.

6. It is a good idea to repeat the test several times to ensure

the results are valid. In the upper right corner the cursor
frequency and amplitude are displayed in units of Hertz and
G (gravity) acceleration. If desired the label under the
frequency/amplitude display can be edited by changing the
position name in step 4 on the previous page. To capture
the screen in a bitmap, hold down the “0” and the “7” keys
simultaneously. Select “Bitmap” from the printer pull down.
The screen capture will be saved as dump.bmp file on the
PCMCIA card.

Figure 3 shows what happens when a principle forcing

frequency is in close proximity to a structural natural
frequency (330 Hz). The pump vane (PV) rate is about 10%
lower than the structural natural frequency. The average
plus sigma level for pump vane rate is 116 VdB or 0.352 in/s
pk. If a bump test were performed on this machine you
might see a similar spectrum without the discrete shaft rate
harmonic peaks. The broad base on the hump implies that
the structure is highly damped.

253 Winslow Way West

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 U.S.A.
Tel.: (206) 842-7656 Application Note DCA-31 Bumptest
Fax: (206) 842-7667 © 2004 – DLI Engineering Corp. - All rights reserved.
E-mail: sales@DLIengineering.com Printed in U.S.A.