CHAPTER 6

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
6.1 Components used in the experimental setup
The various components used in the experimental setup are shown in the block
diagram 6.1
Figure 6.1 Block diagram of the experimental setup
6.1.1 Accelerometer
Accelerometers are electromechanical device devices that are utilized in measuring
acceleration. As part of the process of measuring acceleration the accelerometer will also
!ield information on such important factors as vibrations inclination and shock. "hile the
devices were once onl! large and relativel! bulk! in construction modern technolog! has
made it possible to produce accelerometers that are relativel! portable and eas! to set up
for operation. There are man! different wa!s to make an accelerometer. #ome
accelerometers use the piezoelectric effect$ the! contain microscopic cr!stal structures that
get stressed b! accelerative forces which cause a voltage to be generated. Another wa! to
do it is b! sensing changes in capacitance. %f two microstructures are kept next to each
other the! have a certain capacitance between them. %f an accelerative force moves one of
the structures then the capacitance will change. #ome circuitr! is added to convert from
capacitance to voltage and !ou will get an accelerometer.
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Figure 6.& Accelerometer
Table 6.1 #pecification of the accelerometer
'odel number 3097A2
'anufacturer Dytran Instruments Inc
#ensitivit! 100.5 mV/g
6.1.2 Shaker
The vibrator or shaker functions b! the interaction between a stead! magnetic field
produced b! a permanent magnet concentrated in the annular gap formed between the pole
tip and the central bore in the front plate and an oscillating current flowing in the moving coil.
%n such circumstances a force is generated at right angles to the flux and to the conductor
carr!ing the current. This force is proportional to the product of the instantaneous current
and the magnetic flux densit!. The! are found in various shapes in sizes. There are fixed
fre(uenc! hand)held shakers on the market that can be used to simulate vibration or verif!
the output of a sensor at a fixed fre(uenc! and amplitude. The shaker used in this
experiment is one of the most user)friendl! shakers that can combine reliable and accurate
technolog! with a ruggedness and portabilit! to travel.
Figure 6.* #haker
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Table 6.& #pecification of the shaker
'odel + &,, #eries +ibrator
#ine Force -eak 1../ 0
'aximum #ine Force -eak &6.. 0
Armature 1esonance Fre(uenc! 1*,,, 2z
3seful Fre(uenc! 1ange 4)1*,,, 2z
5ffective 'ass of 'oving 5lement ,.,&, kg
+elocit! #ine -eak 1.67 m8s
'aximum +elocit! #ine -eak 1./* m8s
'aximum Acceleration #ine -eak /7, m8s
&

Amplifier 1ating ,.,6/ k +A
9:# Amplifier -A&45
:isplacement ;continuous< pk)pk 4 mm
'aximum displacement ;continuous< pk)pk 4 mm
=ooling Air Flow 1ate ,.,,1m
*
8s
'aximum "oking Ambient
Temperature
*,
,
=
2eat 1e>ected to Air 6/ "
5lectrical 1e(uirement ,1* k+A
+ibrator 'ass 4 kg
2eight &&6 mm
"idth 1/, mm
9ength 11. mm
6.1.3 Primar !!tem
The primar! s!stem consists of an aluminium cantilever beam with an end mass of
*,, gm at its end. The dimensions of the cantilever beam are
9ength of the cantilever beam ) 6,, mm
Breadth of the cantilever beam ) */ mm
Thickness of the cantilever beam ) 6.4 mm
:ensit! of aluminium ) &.,, kg8m
*
6.1." Seco#$ar !!tem
#'A #prings used in the experiment are made up of 0itinol. These allo!s are made
of 44?)46? 0ickel and 66?)64? Titanium. #mall changes in composition can significantl!
impact the properties of the material. 3nlike normal springs which have a fixed stiffness
value the #'A springs have got a range of stiffness var!ing from austenite state to
martensite state and this takes place in a c!clic manner due to repeated heating and cooling
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respectivel!. The #'A springs can be actuated with a power suppl! of ,)4 + and current
range of ,)* A. The #'A springs were purchased from :@0A99A@ %nc. 3#A. The cost of a
set of four #'A springs is 1s.&,1,,. A mass of 1,, gm attached to the end of the spring
acts as the absorber and together the! act as the secondar! s!stem. The mass along with
the spring acts as the secondar! s!stem. The specification of the #'A tension springs are
given belowB
"ire radius ) ,..4mm
'ean radius ) * mm
Free 9ength ) *4 mm
0umber of coils ) 17
6.1.% Co#trol !!tem
A proportionate constant current buck converter was designed to have constant
currents from ,.4 A to * A with ,.4 incremental value under a power suppl! of ,)4+ to
maintain constant current for &/ seconds and the output is switched to the other spring at
constant intervals of time in a loop. The controller is shown in figure 6.6. %1FC660 is used as
switch for buck converter atmega / micro controllers with 'A=*,&, optocoupler is used to
drive the 'A#F5T ;%1FC660<. The proportionate controller was implemented with the help
of current feedback from the shunt resistor in terms of voltage. The interfacing is done with
the help of 9ab+%5" /.&.
6.6 -roportionate controller
6.2 &e!cri'tio# o( the e)'erime#tal !et *'
The primar! s!stem consists of an aluminium cantilever beam with a mass of *,,g at
used to find the amplitude of vibration. The accelerometer is interfaced with the computer b!
using 9ab+%5" software and -D%)1,*1 :ata Ac(uisition ;:AE< card from 0ational
%nstruments. A shaker is used to produce the necessar! vibrations. The input to the shaker is
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also given through -D%)1,*1. The secondar! s!stem consists of spring or springs connected
to an absorber mass. The! are attached to the free end of the beam.
Figure 6.4 5xperimental setup
6.3 La+,IE- ..2
9ab+%5" /.& is a graphical programming environment used b! millions of
engineers and scientists to develop sophisticated measurement test and control s!stems
using intuitive graphical icons and wires that resemble a flowchart. %t offers unrivaled
integration with thousands of hardware devices and provides hundreds of built)in libraries for
advanced anal!sis and data visualization all for creating virtual instrumentation. The
9ab+%5" platform is scalable across multiple targets and A#s and since its introduction in
17/6 it has become an industr! leader. The 9ab+%5" program used is shown in figure 6.6
and the block diagram is shown in figure 6...
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Power suppy
!I "a#VI$% &.2
'pr(ng mass system
!I P)I* 1031
'+a,er
Proport(onate controer
6.6 9ab+%5" program
6.. 9ab+%5" block diagram
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