400 Design for Vibration Suppression Chap.

Fo/k \fkF +
FTT =
[(1 - r2f + {2irf]in = c2<x>2
Vl + 1 + ,02
F0 c2u>2z/k2 2 =1/2 (5.6)
[(1 - r f + (2£r) ]Fn V (1 -(2£r
2 2
r ) +
(2{r)
where r = w/w„, as before. Substituting this value of X into equation
(5.5) yields
where C2CJ2//C2 = (2mcn„£)2co2/&2 = (2?/ )2.The trammissibility
ratio, or transmission ratio, denoted T.R., is defined as the ratio of
the magnitude of the transmitted force to the magnitude of the
applied force. By a simple manipulation of equation (5.6), this
becomes

TR I±0W1_ (5.7)
F0 V (l - r ) + (Hr)2
2 2

A comparison of this force transmissibility expression with the

displacement trans- missibility given in Window 5.1 indicates that
they are identical. It is important to note, however, that even though
they have the same value, they come from .different isolation
problems and hence describe
Magnification of the different phenomena.
isolation area The displacement
transmissibility ratio given in
5 = 1.0 the left column of
5 = Window 5.1 describes
0.5
5 = 0.2
r

T.
R.

how a steady-state displacement (Y) of the base of a device mounted

on an isolator is transmitted into motion of the device ( X). Figure
5.5 is a plot of the T.R,
Figure 5.S Plot of the transmissibility ratio,T.R., indicating the value
ofT.P*. for a variety of choices of the damping ratio 5 and the frequency
401 Design for Vibration Suppression Chap. 5
ratio /-.Thisis a repeat of Figure 2.13 and is a plot of equation (5.7).
5.2 Vibration Isolation 402

for various values of the damping ratio £ and frequency ratio /-.The
larger the value of T.R., the larger the amplitude of motion of the
mass. These curves are useful for designing the isolators. In
particular, the design process consists of choosing £ and r, within
the available isolator’s material, such that T.R. is small.
Note from Figure 5.5 that if the frequency ratio r is greater
than V2, the magnitude of vibration of the device is smaller than the
disturbance magnitude Y and vibration isolation occurs. For r less
than \/2, the amplitude X increases (i.e., X is larger than Y). The
value of the damping ratio (each curve in Figure 5.5 corresponds to
a different £) determines how much smaller the amplitude of
vibration is for a given frequency ratio. Near resonance, the T.R. is
determined completely by the value of £ (i.e., by the damping in the
isolator). In the isolation region the smaller the value of £,thc
smaller the value of T.R. and the better the isolation. Also note that
as r is increased for a fixed to, the value of T.R. decreases. This
corresponds to increasing the mass or decreasing the stiffness of the
isolator.
Example 5.2.1
An electronic control system for an automobile engine is to be
mounted on top of the fender inside the engine compartment of
the automobile as illustrated in Figure 5.6. The control module
electr onically computes and controls the engine timing,
fuel/air mixture, and so on, and completely controls the engine.
To protect it from fatigue and breakage, it is desirable to
isolate the module from the vibration induced in the car body
by road and engine vibration. Hence the module is mounted on
an isolator. Design the isolator (i.e., pick c and k) if the mass of
the module is 3 kg and the dominant vibration of the fender is
approximated by y(t) = (0.01) (sin35f) m. Here it is desired to
keep the displacement of the module less than 0.005 m at all
times. Once the design values for isolators arc chosen, calculate
the magnitude of the force transmitted to the module through
the isolator.
Solution Since it is desired to keep the vibration of the module,
Module

li*»

(c)
Figure 5.6 (a) Cutaway sketch of the engine
compartment of an automobile illustrating the location
of the car’s electronic control module, (b) Close-up of
the control module mounted on the inside fender on
an isolator, (c) Vibration model of the module isolator
system.
Sec. 5.2 Vibration Isolation 403

x(t), less than 0.005 m, the response amplitude becomes X =

0.005 m. The amplitude of y(t) is Y = 0.01 m; hence the desired
displacement transmissibility ratio becomes

0 0)'P
 £=1
Figure 5.7 Transmissibility curve of Figure 5.6,£= repeated
here, indicating possible design solutions for 0.5 Example
5.2.1. Each point of intersection with one of the £=
curves of
constant £ yields the desired T.R. 0.2
404 Design for Vibration Suppression Chap. 5

Examining the transmissibility curves of Figure 5.5 yields several

possible solutions for £ and A straight horizontal line through T.R.
= 0.5, illustrated in Figure 5.7, crosses at several values of £ and r.
For instance, the £ = 0.02 curve intersects the T.R. = 0.5 line at r =
1.73. Thus r = 1.73, £ = 0.02 provides one possible design solution.
Recalling that r — u>/o)„ = 1.73 and to = 35 rad/s, the
isolation system’s natural frequency is about <n„ = 35/1.73 = 20.231
rad/s. Since the mass of the module is m = 3 kg, the stiffness is
(recall to,, = V/t/m)
k = nml = (3 kg)(20.231 rad/s)2 = 1228 N/m
Thus the isolation mount must be made of a material with this
stiffness (or add a stiffener). The damping ratio £ is related to the
damping constant c by equation (1.30):
c = 2£mu)„ = 2(0.02)(3 kg)(20.231 rad/s)
= 2.428 kg/s
These values for c and k, together with the geometric size of the
module and fender shape, can now be used to choose the isolation
mount material. At this point the designer would look through
vendor catalogs to search for existing isolation mounts and
materials that have approximately these values. If none exactly
meet these values, the curves in Figure 5.7 are consulted to see if one
of the other solutions corresponds more closely to an existing
isolation material. Of course, equation (2.71) or (5.7) can be used to
calculate solutions lying in between those illustrated in Figure 5.7.
If many solutions are still available after a search of existing
products is made, the choice of a mount can be “optimized” by
considering other functions, such as cost, ease of assembly,
temperature range, reliability of vendor, availability of product,
and quality required. Eventually, a good design must consider all of
these aspects.
The electronic module may also have a limit on the amount of
force it can withstand. One way to estimate the amount of force is to
use the theory developed in Section 2.4, in particular in equation
(2.77), which is reproduced in Window 5.1. This
Sec. 5.2 Vibration Isolation 405

expression relates the force transmitted to the module by the

motion of the fender through the isolator. Using the values just

L(1 - r 2 f + (2£>fJ
= (1228 N/m)(0.01
m)(1.73)2(Q.5) = 18.375N
calculated in equation (2.77) yields
If this force happens to be too large, the design must be
redone. With the maximum force transmitted as an additional
design consideration, the curves of Figure 2.14 must also be
consulted when choosing the values of r and £ to meet the
required design specifications. The static deflection caused by
this design is 8 = nig/k = 0.024 m. The static deflection and the
ratio X/Y define the rattle space or physical dimensions
needed for the isolator to vibrate in. In a car the 2.4 cm might
be acceptable, but if the application were to isolate a CD drive
in a laptop computer, this distance would be unacceptable
because it is large compared to the thickness of the laptop.
Static deflection and rattle space are important design
considerations and often limit the ability to design a good
isolator.
□
Example 5.2.1 may have seemed very reasonable. However,
many assumptions were made in reaching the final design, and all
of these must be given careful thought. For example, the
assumption that the motion of the fender is harmonic of the form
y{t) = (0.01) sin 35/ is very restrictive. In reality, it is probably
random, or at least the value of w varies through a range of
frequencies.This is not to say that the solution presented in
Example 5.2.1 is useless, just that the designer should keep in mind
its limitations. Even though the real input to the system is random,
the chosen amplitude of Y = 0.01 m and frequency of o> = 35 rad/s
might represent a deterministic bound on all possible inputs to the
system (i.e., all other disturbance amplitudes may be smaller than Y
= 0.01 m, and all other driving frequencies might be larger than u»
= 35 rad/s). Hence in many practical cases the designer is faced with
choosing an isolator that will protect the part from, say, 5g between

0 0)'P
406 Design for Vibration Suppression Chap. 5
20 and 200 Hz, or the designer will be given a plot of PSD versus wr
(recall Section 3.5) and try to design the isolator to service these
types of inputs. Section 5.9 examines the isolation problem from the
practical aspect of working with manufacturers of isolation
products.
The design of shock isolation systems is performed by
examining the shock spectrum, as introduced in Section 3.6.To
make the comparison to vibration isolation clear, the shock
spectrum is reconsidered here as a plot of the ratio of the maximum
motion of the response acceleration amplitude (i.e., <o2X) to the
disturbance acceleration amplitude [i.e., tire amplitude of y(/)]
versus the product of the natural frequency and the time duration
of the pulse, /,. Here the disturbance y(t) is modeled as a half
sinusoid of the form

Y sin u>pt 0 < / (I'

y(t) = < )p (5.8
)