Mobility Measurements
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dtMtion to this iMpoiiaiit ailpliS
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theoretical ''^80!gi^^::mA;S0R
TTTI i measurements at many points, we use
Wny are We Concerned
With Structural d y n a m i c s ?
As economic constraints become
tighter, we can no longer afford the
problems caused by structures, such
as machines on a factory floor, which
vibrate excessively. Breakdowns and
human discomfort are just two of the
problems we often face. A noisy ma-
chine is probably not an efficient one.
i i e ,
As we strive to develop faster,
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lighter
& and cheaper structures, we
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must have the expertise and experi-
i , i • i i i i i i
mental techniques at hand to deal
with the vibration problems which en-
sue. We must also be able to charac-
terize structures. To these ends sim-
pie mobility measurements can help.
Wliat is mobility^
<
Put very simply, mobility is a mea-
sure of how easy it is to vibrate a
structure. Consider it the opposite of
impedance, which tells us how diffi-
cult it is to do the same. When dealing
with structures, where we might make
j
BO 0170-11
Making Mobility Measurements on a rotor. The hammer provides a known,
measured, force input. An accelerometer measures the vibration. The
Briiel&Kjser Dual Channel Analyzer computes the Mobility Function
same information. However, the scal-
t h e m o bility function. ing of the mobility is frequency
. . . . ' weighted and depends on whether we
We define mobility in terms of the have measured acceleration, velocity
dynamic force acting at a point and or displacement. Simple post-process-
the velocity resulting. In other words ing enables us to change between
Velocity them.
Mobility = —
, . . . . " '
Mobility is a complex system de- HOW d.0 We measure
scriptor. The mobility is frequency de- U'1'4. O
pendent and it gives the magnitude mobility .
and phase relationships which exist _> ,. .. . ,
ux ,L -4-4.- J +u~ -u ~ rjssentiaily,
J we measure the Jdynam-
between the excitation and the vibra- . u . '
TT7 , , ,, i .1.4. A IC behaviour ot a structure to a forced
tion response. We plot the mobility or . TX7 ,
, - I£ J • input. We can measure the response i.e
a structure against frequency and in ,, ~ ., ,. . ., ,. ^ ,
^- J ^ • +i» i- „„~4.„ :„.*.:« the vibration, using a vibration trans-
this way determine the characteristic f We ^ Fi e z * e l e c t r i c a c c e l e r o m .
mobility function. We call this the ".
e in mos
"frequency response" of the structure.
We also use Note> The ^ of^ accelerometer
=
Acceleration m U s t not be so high as to change the
Accelerance .
force vibration it was put there to measure.
T h i s is i m o r t a n t w h e n
Displacement P measuring the
2
Compliance = vibration of light structures.
When plotted against frequency We often use a force hammer and
these mobility functions provide the "tap" the structure to give the force
input. A force transducer in the tip of
tne n a m m e r
i also called inertance produces a signal of the
force pulse. We can also use a vibra-
2 also called receptance tion exciter. A force transducer be-
■■
fa

tween the measurement point and t h e f r e q u e n c y , Nyquist and Bode Plots).

shaker produces the force signal. O n l y W
with the latter method can we c h o s e m o b i
the type of excitation signal. T h e W e
built-in generator of the 2032 and 2 0 3 4 a l e
provides random, pseudo-random a n d s p o n
sine signals to drive the vibration e x - T r a n s f
c i t e r . d a m p i n
The signals from the force t r a n s d u c - l i d i t y
er and accelerometer are fed into the
two channels of the analyzer. Most
transducers require an external pre- Fig.l. A typical mobility function and co-
herence
amplifier between themselves and the faction displayed on the
scrscn ot tfrc 2034
analyzer. Briiel&Kjser line-drive ac-
celerometers have built-in preamplifi-
ers. These can be plugged directly into form (DFT). High speed computation
the analyzer. then produces the mobility function.
During and after the measurement a
The analyzer simultaneously mea- range of post-processing facilities are
sures the force and response, converts available to us. We can display the
them into a digital signal and com- mobility function in many different
putes their Discrete Fourier Trans- formats (magnitude-frequency, phase-
e can convert from accelerance to
l i t y to compliance by integrating.
can look at the time domain equiv-
n t of the mobility - the impulse re-
s e - by using the inverse Fourier
o r m . We can calculate the
g this way. Another function -
the coherence - tells us about the va-
of the measurement.
Sometimes it is not possible to pro-
v[^e a controlled and measured input
into a stmcture< T a k e a la building
for example. Even the largest shakers
or impactors will not be able to impart
sufficient energy at frequencies other
than the resonance frequency to a
structure this size. Instead, we must
assume a knowledge of an input, such
as a controlled explosion for example,
and proceed from there.

What can we use mobility measurements for?

Trouble-Shooting. High vibration
and noise levels in structures are
caused by a high force input, or by
amplification of a "normal" force in-
put by unwanted resonances. The mo-
bility function shows us these struc-
tural resonances. A structural reso-
nance represents a structural
weakness. Problems arise when the ex-
citation frequencies encountered in
normal operation coincide with the
resonance frequencies.
Materials Testing. We can calcu-
late the internal damning or "loss fac- Fig.2. An impact hammer and accelerometer-the front end of a mobility measurement
tor" of materials from the mobility
function. We can measure on concrete,
asphalt, metals, plastics and compos-
ite materials.
D e s i g n . We can predict the dynamic
interaction of interconnected systems
using a knowledge of the mobility of
the individual parts. Vibration isola-
tors and machinery mounting can be
optimized.
Quality Control We can detect hid-
den faults, non-uniformities or toler-
ances deviations of items by compar-
ing the mobility function of a standard
with a recently manufactured item.
Mathematical Modelling Mobility
measurements taken at many points
can form the building blocks of a
mathematical model of the structure.
This is the basis of modal analysis.
Existing mathematical models, such as
a Finite Element model, can be veri- Fig.3. A range of mobility measurement- and documentation-equipment is available from
fied. Briiel&Kjcer