Chapter 11 – Vibration

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a brief overview on the concept of vibration. Vibration is the oscillatory motion of objects. Several different measurable parameters are of interest: relative position, velocity, acceleration, jerk (the derivative of acceleration), and dynamic force are mostly desired. Vibration, in the general sense, occurs as periodic oscillation, as random motion, or as transient motion, the latter more normally being referred to as shock when the transient is large in amplitude and brief in duration. Vibration can occur in linear or rotational forms of motion, the two being termed respectively, and translational or torsional vibrations. In many ways the basic understanding of each is similar because a rotational system also concerns displacements. Translational forms are outlined very briefly in the chapter. In vibration measurement, it is important to decide whether or not a physically attached mechanical sensor, corresponding to a contacting or no contacting technique, can be used. Adequate measurement of vibration can be a most complex problem. The requirement is to determine features of motion of a point or an extended object in space relative to a reference framework.