MECHANICAL VIBRATION

(MEEN 5335)

FALL 2019

Project Report
Develop the vertical test fixture for vibration
testing of UUT(Black-Box)

Submitted by:
Devendra Kishor Sah
Pritam Dey
Mohit Mittal
Rahul Sharma

Submitted to:
Dr. Jenny Zhou (Associate Dean of College of Engineering)
Dr. Sushil Doranga (Professor)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lamar University
 1. Project requirements
Boeing the aerospace company, referred here in as the client, requested Lamar University Students to
perform the vibration analysis on a test fixture. The test fixture is intended to support the unit under test
(UUT) /test specimen. It is also necessary that the test fixture do not interact with the UUT during the
vibration testing. The UUT referred here in shall be the event recorder (Black-Box) that is used to record
the information in the event of an accident. The orientation of the UUT during the test shall be identical
as the intended orientation of the UUT in the aircraft. The Orientation of the UUT for the test purpose is
shown in the Figure below.

The detail test parameters for the testing are as follows. Sweep Sine Test: (5-1000) Hz, Linear sweep with
an acceleration level of 5g. The duration of the sweep test shall be 15 minutes. Random Vibration Test:
The test shall be performed in a frequency band of (5-1000)Hz with Grms level of 4 for an extended
duration of 5 hours in each axis (Test Profile not provided). During the design phase, the engineers from
Boeing company has done the extensive modal analysis and quantify that the UUT has the first mode
natural frequency around 500 Hz and the second mode natural frequency around 800 Hz. The Weight of
the UUT shall be 44lb. The dimension of the UUT shall be 9.5in× 9.75𝑖𝑛 × 6.25𝑖𝑛.
Develop the vertical test fixture that can replicate the above profile without interacting with the UUT.
Requirements:

1. The test fixture should not have any resonance modes below 1200 Hz.
2. The transmissibility of the fixture shall be minimum.
3. The recommended material for the fixture shall be Aluminum T6061.
The bolt hole pattern for the shaker table is shown in Figure.
 2. Introduction
When it comes to vibration testing there are two popular types to consider: sine and random. We receive
frequent requests for clarification on which test to run specific products on. The answer is, of course, it
depends. So here’s a bit of background to help you make a decision.

Sine Vibration Testing

Sine vibration testing applies a single frequency to a test item and selectively excites resonant structures
within the device. In a swept sine test a vibration sine tone is ramped up and down through a range of
frequencies and for a specified rate and duration.

Sine testing is primarily useful in identifying resonant conditions within a test item.On an electronic
module the circuit boards are often the main resonant structures and typically their fatigue conditions are
most important to understand. However the components themselves mounted on the PCB as well as the
electronics housing also have their own unique natural resonant conditions which are usually different
than the circuit boards. Using sine vibration to identify resonant conditions on the PCB or on other test
item structures is an effective way to understand how mechanical vibration propagates through a device
and can help designers stiffen or dampen elements of the product to reduce the probability of a fatigue
failure.

Figure 1: Sine vibration test frequency plot (top). Time waveform plot (bottom).

Swept sine testing is also useful when the product’s application environment includes reciprocating
equipment like motors, engines, turbines, or fans. If the application vibration environment has a significant
sine characteristic and if the field vibration can be measured then a swept sine test covering the recorded
environmental conditions can be run for a specified duration and at an increased amplitude to simulate a
lifetime of fatigue stress.
Sine testing is also helpful to simulate worst case fatigue exposure by programming an electrodynamic
vibration input sine tone to line up with the major resonant frequency of the test item. A vibration test that
applies a fixed sine dwell at a resonant frequency will usually generate the highest amplitude
displacements and accelerations and therefore the most damaging fatigue stress conditions for the product.

Random Vibration Testing

A random vibration test is one comprised of vibration energy at all frequencies over a specified range.
The vibration frequency components that make up the input signal for a random test combine in amplitude
and phase to create a time waveform which appears on an oscilloscope as random noise. The
characteristics of the random waveform are constantly updating and changing within the bounds of the
programmed random input.

Figure 2: Random vibration test frequency plot (top). Time waveform plot (bottom)

Random vibration is the most common type of validation and qualification test that is performed for
electronic modules. The majority of vibration environments where devices are mounted, especially
electronic devices, are characterized as having predominantly random vibration conditions.

The most effective vibration test to run is one based on actual field measurements of the specific
environment where a product will be operated. By recording the in-situ vibration environment with an
accelerometer or multiple accelerometers a random power spectral density plot can be created and run at
the level recorded or increased to accelerate fatigue and shorten test time. On a random vibration power
spectral density plot, the acceleration amplitude is scaled on the y-axis in units of G2/Hz and the x-axis
units in frequency. If the measured vibration environment has sinusoidal characteristics then the random
vibration profile can also be tailored to include sine tones applied over the random vibration background.
 3. Iteration to get to the final design
▪ A priliminary model is designed as shown in the picture of the assignment to sat the analysis.
▪ The material for all the analysis is Aluminium T6061 as recommended in the assignment.

1. We started with a simple design with supports on the two side to counteract the vibration in that
direction by increasing the stiffness as shown in the figure below. The base holes are fixed constraints
with not degree of freedom. The Modal analysis shows gave 404.9Hz as the first mode natural
frequency. This is way of the desired 1200 Hz.

2. Since the early case has very low natural frequency, Material thickness is doubled to 2 inches. With
similar boundary conditions Modal analysis is performed. The first mode is 431.7Hz, which is not a
great improvement to the earlier model. The analysis model can be seen in the figure below
3. Since the most effected vibrated part is at the top center of the fixture, we added braces like support
horizontally as shown in the figure below. However the model analysis showed that the affected the
natural frequency adversely. The modal analysis result in the below figure shows that mode 1 is only
281.3Hz. This because of the added mass away from the fixed constrained end.

4. To despiser the effect of added mass at the far end of the fixed support, we have removed the far end
of the vertical fixture side in the shape of semi-circle. The removal off the mass away from fixed end
almost increased the natural frequency by 170%. This is a huge improvement over the previous design
and this the highest natural frequency obtained so for. But its nowhere near the required 1200 Hz.
5. We can see that the center top end off the vertical fixture is having most amplitude, We added the
stiffness by a vertical support on the other side as shown in the figure below. This addition decreased
the natural frequency to 326Hz. Even though the stiffness might have been improved, the added mass
is affecting the natural frequency to decrease.

6. Since the previous iterations did not improve the natural frequency by much, we decided to take
another root from the beginning. So the similar fixture with 1 inch thickness is supported with a ridge
like structure on the sides and to centralize the mass, the center of the vertical side is cut in the shape
of triangle as shown in the figure below. The result is huge improvement in natural frequency. This
seemed to be step in the right direction, though there is lot desired to achieve natural frequency above
1200Hz.
7. Now to improve the natural frequency further, we added horizontal braces on the back of vertical
side and increased he wall thickness to 1.5 inches, Base thickness is increased to 2 inches. The
analysis results showed a decent improvement to 787.9Hz, the highest so far.

8. After trying different types and orientations on the back of vertical side, we did not notice any gains
to the natural frequency. Hence we decided to try adding similar support structure on the other side of
vertical support and constrained them similar to the main side. This resulted in natural frequency of
1222Hz, which is more than 1200Hz and serves over requirement of having natural frequency above
1200Hz. The modal analysis is shown below, and detailed analysis is shown in the next section
Study Report for the final design

Analyzed File Vertical Test fixture v27

Version Autodesk Fusion 360 (2.0.6670)
Creation Date 2019-12-03, 14:17:16
Devendra Kishor Sah
Pritam Dey
Authors
Mohit Mittal
Rahul Sharma

Project Properties
Title Studies of Vertical Test fixture
Devendra Kishor sah
Pritam Dey
Authors
Mohit Mittal
Rahul Sharma

Simulation Model 1:1

Study 1 - Modal Frequencies

Study Properties
Study Type Modal Frequencies

Settings

General
Contact Tolerance 0.1 mm
Number of Modes 8
Frequency Range [Hz] No
Compute Preloaded Modes No
Enhanced Accuracy No
Mesh
Average Element Size (% of model size)
Solids 8
Scale Mesh Size Per Part No
Average Element Size (absolute value) -
Element Order Parabolic
Create Curved Mesh Elements Yes
Max. Turn Angle on Curves (Deg.) 60
Max. Adjacent Mesh Size Ratio 1.5
Max. Aspect Ratio 10
Minimum Element Size (% of average size) 20

Adaptive Mesh Refinement

Number of Refinement Steps 0
Results Convergence Tolerance (%) 20
Frequency Mode 1

Materials
Component Material Safety Factor
Body1 Aluminum 6061 T6 0 Cold Formed Yield Strength

Aluminum 6061 T6 0 Cold Formed

Density 2.7E-06 kg / mm^3
Young's Modulus 69000 MPa
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
Yield Strength 369 MPa
Ultimate Tensile Strength 389 MPa
Thermal Conductivity 0.18 W / (mm C)
Thermal Expansion Coefficient 2.36E-05 / C
Specific Heat 896 J / (kg C)

Mesh
Type Nodes Elements
Solids 77260 49970
Load Case1

Constraints

Fixed1
Type Fixed
Ux Yes
Uy Yes
Uz Yes

Selected Entities
 Fixed2
Type Fixed
Ux Yes
Uy Yes
Uz Yes

Selected Entities

Final Results
Result Summary
Frequency Participation X Participation Y Participation Z
Mode 1: 1222 Hz 0 0.0047 5.08700013
Mode 2: 1444 Hz 22.3315999 0 0
Mode 3: 1660 Hz 2.61330009 0 0
Mode 4: 1859 Hz 0 1.27100004 1.11229997
Mode 5: 2162 Hz 0 0.106299995 4.28460017
Mode 6: 2410 Hz 0.0001 0 0.0001
Mode 7: 2580 Hz 0.0096 0 0.0005
Mode 8: 2687 Hz 0 0.0009 11.1134999
Total Modal Displacement

Mode 1: 1222 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 2: 1444 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 3: 1660 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 4: 1859 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 5: 2162 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 6: 2410 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 7: 2580 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Mode 8: 2687 Hz Total Modal Displacement

Dimensions of the final design

Result Summary
Frequency Participation X Participation Y Participation Z
Mode 1: 1222 Hz 0 0.0047 5.08700013
Mode 2: 1444 Hz 22.3315999 0 0
Mode 3: 1660 Hz 2.61330009 0 0
Mode 4: 1859 Hz 0 1.27100004 1.11229997
Mode 5: 2162 Hz 0 0.106299995 4.28460017
Mode 6: 2410 Hz 0.0001 0 0.0001
Mode 7: 2580 Hz 0.0096 0 0.0005
Mode 8: 2687 Hz 0 0.0009 11.1134999
From this modal analysis we can conclude that all the requirements are met.
Conclusion
1. By improving the design internationally by following the by physics, the natural frequency of the
fixture reacting to the changes is observed and accordingly improvements were made.
2. Developed the vertical test fixture that can replicate without interacting with the UUT
requirements:
3. The test fixture does not have any resonance modes below 1200 Hz. Its first natural frequency
starts at 1222Hz
4. The material used for the fixture for analysis is Aluminum T6061, which is the recommended.
By modify the design of vertical fixture we were able to improve the stiffness and natural
frequency without having to change for different materials