Chapter 22: Principles of Passive Vibration Control: Basics

INTRODUCTION
The generally accepted methods for vibration control of industrial equipment include;
Force Reduction, Mass Addition, Tuning, Isolation, and Damping. Vibrations can be
isolated from equipment using active or passive technology. With active methods,
equal but opposite forces are created electronically using sensors and actuators to
cancel out the unwanted vibrations. With passive methods, isolation is achieved by
limiting the ability of vibrations to be coupled to the item to be isolated. This is done
using a mechanical connection which dissipates or redirects the energy of vibration
before it gets to the item to be isolated. The added structural modification can be
thought of as a passive control. Added stiffness chosen to improve the vibrational
response of the system, then it can be thought of as a passive control procedure.
Passive control is distinguished from active control by the use of added power or
energy in the form of an actuator, required in active control. The material on isolators
and absorbers represents two possible methods of passive control. Indeed, the most
common passive control device is the vibration absorber. Much of the other work in
passive control consists of added layers of damping material applied to various
structures to increase the damping ratios of troublesome modes. Adding mass and
changing stiffness values are also methods of passive control used to adjust a
frequency away from resonance. Damping treatments increase the rate of decay of
vibrations, so they are often more popular for vibration suppression.
Passive methods sometimes involve electromechanical controls for adjusting the
system, but the isolation mechanism itself is passive. Passive systems may use
elastomers, springs, fluids, or negative-stiffness components. Passive systems
generally cost less than active systems and their relative simplicity makes them more
reliable and safe. One of the most basic passive isolators is a spring placed between
the surface transmitting shock or vibration and the item to be isolated. The spring
opposes the impulse on it and absorbs some energy as it deforms. A fluid or
elastomeric element is added to the spring element for damping. A simple example is
the shock absorber in a car. In this case, mechanical energy from the shock or
vibration does work on the fluid and is converted to thermal energy in the fluid,

reducing the amount of energy transmitted to the body of the car. Elastomers are
rubber-like materials which absorb mechanical energy by deforming. Examples of
elastomeric isolators are shock and vibration mounts for automobile engines, aircraft
components, industrial machinery, and building foundations. Because rubber does not
have the same characteristics in all directions, isolation may be much better in one
axis than the others. The most sophisticated passive isolators use air or negativestiffness technology.
In advanced technology applications, such as interferometry, microscopy (including
SPM, SEM, etc.), nano-fabrication and micro-hardness testing, the best passive
vibration isolation devices allow the instruments to perform at their highest possible
level. Pneumatic systems support a heavy table or platform on compressed air pistons,
which provide the decoupling link between the ground and the table, i.e. the table
floats on the air. The most sophisticated air tables do a good job of isolating floor
vibrations at small amplitudes, but can be quite expensive. While they isolate in a
passive manner, they require an air supply, a leveling system, and associated
maintenance and controls. The less sophisticated air systems do not isolate well in all
directions or at the low frequencies which are handled so well by negative-stiffness
systems. The air supply system for pneumatic isolators can create problematic
ambient vibration. The use of electrical methods of leveling the table and controlling
air cylinder pressure adds complexity and the potential for failure. Negative-stiffness
isolators provide a simple, reliable, and highly effective isolation solution for
sensitive instrumentation at the low frequencies and amplitudes of floor and building
vibrations. They are relatively small, light weight, stable, and cost-effective.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION OF ABSORBER AND ISOLATOR ALONGWITH DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF VIBRATION ABSORBER
Vibration isolation seeks to reduce the vibration level in one or several selected areas.
The idea is to hinder the spread of vibrations along the path from the source to the
receiver as shown in Fig. 7.1. Isolation of a vibrating mass refers to designing the
connection of a mass (machine part or structure) to ground in such a way as to reduce
unwanted effects or disturbances through that connection. Vibration absorption, on
the other hand, refers to adding an additional degree of freedom (spring and mass) to

the structure to absorb the unwanted disturbance. The typical model used in vibration
isolation design is the simple single-degree-of-freedom system of Figure 7.2 (a)
without damping, or Figure 7.2(b) with damping.

Vibration
source

Vibration
isolation

Lp

Receiver

Wi
Wr

Wt
Propagation path

Figure 7.1 Example of a situation in which the vibrations emanating from a machine
are reduced by isolation. A power Wi impinges on the isolators, a power Wr is
reflected back towards the source, and a power Wt is transmitted to the floor. [1]

Figure 7.2 (a) Springmass schematic (b) free body diagram and (c) free body
diagram of the static springmass system

Figure 7.3 (b) Schematic of the springmassdamper system and (b) free body
diagram of the system in part (a).

The idea here is twofold. First, if a harmonic force is applied to the mass through
movement of the ground (i.e., as the result of a nearby rotating machine, for instance),
the values of c and k should be chosen to minimize the resulting response of the mass.
The design isolates the mass from the effects of ground motion. The springs on an
automobile serve this purpose. A second use of the concept of isolation is that in
which the mass represents the mass of a machine, causing an unwanted harmonic
disturbance. In this case the values of m, c, and k are chosen so that the disturbance
force passing through the spring and dashpot to ground is minimized. This isolates the
ground from the effects of the machine. The motor mounts in an automobile are
examples of this type of isolation.
Of course, there are various options inherent in the actual realization of a vibration
isolation system. Firstly, there are options as to where along the path to deploy the
isolation; secondly, the isolators themselves can be designed in many different ways.
It is essential to locate and design the isolation in the best possible way for the
specific situation. Regarding the location of the isolation, one can distinguish two
extreme cases: placement near the source; and, placement near the receiver. In the
first case, in which the source is isolated from the surroundings, one speaks of source
isolation. In the second case, in which the receiver is isolated, one instead speaks of
shielding isolation. Note that one can, of course, combine shielding and source
isolation. If there are very demanding requirements for a low vibration level, it is
natural to isolate both the source and the receiver.

a)

b)

Figure 7.4 Two different strategies for vibration isolation: a) source isolation of
machines; and, b) shielding isolation of sensitive equipment. [1]

In either case, the details of the governing equations for the isolation problem consist
of analyzing the steady state forced harmonic response of equations. For instance, if it
is desired to isolate the mass of Figure 7.5 (a, b) from the effects of a disturbance
F = sin(t) then the magnification curves of Figure 7.5 (c) indicate how to choose

the damping and the isolator frequency so that the amplitude of the resulting
vibration is as small as possible.

(c)
Figure 7.5 Magnification curves for a single-degree-of-freedom system
Curves similar to the magnification curves, called transmissibility curves, are usually
used in isolation problems. The ratio of the amplitude of the force transmitted through
the connection between the ground and the mass to the amplitude of the driving force
is called the transmissibility. For the system of Figure 7.3, the force transmitted to
ground is transmitted through the spring, k, and the damper, c. these forces at steady
state are
F = KX (t) = KX sin(t )
And

(7.1)

F = Cx (t) = CX cos(t )

(7.2)

Here, F and F denote the force in the spring and the force in the damper respectively,
and X is the magnitude of the steady state response. The magnitude of the transmitted

force is the magnitude of the vector sum of these two forces, denoted by FT, and is
given by
F = Kx + Cx

= [(KX) + (CX) ]

(7.3)

Thus, the magnitude of transmitted force becomes

F = KX 1 +

(7.4)

The amplitude of the applied force is just F0, so that the transmissibility ratio, denoted
by TR, becomes;

TR =

(7.5)
[

Plots of above expression versus the frequency ratio for various values of are
called transmissibility curves. One such curve is illustrated in Figure 7.6. This curve
indicates that, for values of >2 (that is, TR <1), vibration isolation occurs,
whereas for values of <2 (TR >1) an amplification of vibration occurs. Of
course, the largest increase in amplitude occurs at resonance. If the physical
parameters of a system are constrained such that isolation is not feasible, a vibration
absorber may be included in the design. A vibration absorber consists of an attached
second mass, spring, and damper, forming a two-degree-of-freedom system. The
second springmass system is then tuned to resonate and hence absorb all the
vibrational energy of the system.

Fig 7.6 Transmissibility ratio on log-log scale

Fig 7.7 Two DOF of system

The basic method of designing a vibration absorber is illustrated here by examining

the simple case with no damping. To this end, consider the two-degree-of-freedom
system of Figure 7.7 with c1 = c2 = f2 = 0, m2 = ma, the absorber mass, m1 = m, the
primary mass, k1 = k, the primary stiffness, and k2 = ka, the absorber spring constant.
In addition, let x1 =x, the displacement of the primary mass, and x2 = xa, the
displacement of the absorber. Also, let the driving force F = sin(t) be applied to

the primary mass, m. The absorber is designed to the steady state response of this
mass by choosing the values of ma and ka. Recall that the steady state response of a
harmonically excited system is found by assuming a solution that is proportional to a
harmonic term of the same frequency as the driving frequency.
From the equations of motion of the two-mass absorber systems are

m 0
0 m

k+k
x
+
x
k

x
F
x = 0 sin(t)

k
k

(7.6)

Assuming that in the steady state the solution of above Equation will be of the form

x(t)
X
=
sin(t)
X
x (t)

(7.7)

and substituting into Equation yields

k + k m
k

k
k m

X
F
sin(t) =
sin(t)
X
0

(7.8)

Solving for the magnitudes X and Xa yields;

X
=(
X

)(

) (

k m
k

k
k + k m

F
0

(7.9)

or
X=(
and

)(

) (

(7.10)

X =(

)(

) (

(7.11)

As can be seen by examining Equation, if k and k are chosen such that k

m = 0, i.e., such that k m = , then the magnitude of the steady state

response of the primary m is zero, i.e., X = 0. Hence, if the added absorber mass, ma,
is tuned to the driving frequency , then the amplitude of the steady state vibration
of the primary mass, X, is zero and the absorber mass effectively absorbs the energy
in the system.
The addition of damping into the absorber-mass system provides two more
parameters to be adjusted for improving the response of the mass m. However, with
damping, the magnitude X cannot be made exactly zero.

VIBRATION ISOLATION IN GENERAL

A vibration isolation problem is often schematically described by division into

substructures: a source structure which is coupled to a receiver structure. The
vibration isolation is yet another substructure incorporated between the two structures.
The objective of vibration isolation is to reduce the vibrations in some specific
portion of the receiver structure. It is apparent that vibration isolation can be realized
in many different ways. It therefore falls upon the designer to arrive at an isolation
system design well-suited to the specific situation.
All practical vibration isolation builds on a single physical principle. When a wave is
propagating in an elastic medium falls upon an abrupt change (discontinuity) in the
properties of the medium, only a portion of the wave passes through that
discontinuity. The remaining portion of the wave is reflected back towards the
direction from which the incident wave arrives. The magnitude of the reflected
portion of the wave depends on the magnitude of the change in properties. In the case
of vibration isolation, one seeks to hinder the propagation of the wave by bringing
about such discontinuities in properties along the propagation path.

The most common way to accomplish a discontinuity in the properties of the medium
is to incorporate an element that is considerably more compliant, i.e., has a lower
stiffness than the surrounding medium (see figure 7.8). That type of element is usually
called a vibration isolator. Steel coil springs and rubber isolators in a variety of forms
are examples of vibration isolators readily available on the market. Note that the
stiffness can be changed by incorporating elements that are stiffer than the
surrounding parts.

a)

Wt

Wi

b)

Wt

Wi
m

Wr

Wr

Figure 7.8 Two different vibration isolation methods. a) Reflection against a soft
element. b) Reflection against a mass. Wi = incident power, Wr = reflected power and
Wt = transmitted power.

Fundamentals of Sound and Vibrations by KTH Sweden [1], this book is used
under IITR-KTH MOU for course development.