B-52 Crash at Edwards AFB

The B-52 Involved In Tragic Crash Was Heading out on Radar Test Sortie The mission objective was to test a new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system (the Raytheon APQ-188), which is a core component of the upcoming B-52J upgrade package. B-52 Crash at… Read more

Accelerated Shock Testing and Reliability Modeling for Micromechanical MEMS Devices

MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) devices are miniature sensors or actuators fabricated using semiconductor manufacturing techniques, integrating microscopic mechanical structures and electronic circuitry on a single silicon chip. They use tiny moving elements such as beams, proof masses, diaphragms, or comb structures to sense or control physical… Read more

New Glenn Failure, May 28, 2026

Tough day for Blue Origin’s New Glenn. Blue Origin was performing a static fire (hotfire) test ahead of an anticipated fourth launch — the rocket was likely fully fueled, contributing to what is described as one of the largest rocket explosions in U.S. history. Blue Origin,… Read more

Shock, Vibration, Fatigue & Machinery Classes Beginning September 2026

This September 2026 course series provides practical training in shock, vibration, fatigue, structural dynamics, FEA, machinery vibration, acoustics, and rotor dynamics for engineers working with test data, qualification requirements, failure analysis, and mechanical system reliability. Each one-hour class is organized in a semester-style format, with… Read more

Effective Modal Mass and Modal Participation Factors

ModalMass_revK.pdf Effective modal mass and modal participation factors provide a quantitative basis for identifying dynamically significant vibration modes and for guiding modal truncation in structural dynamic analyses. This paper presents a unified formulation for both base-excited systems and grounded systems subjected to externally applied forces.… Read more

Tom & Friends’ ebooks

An Introduction to Shock & Vibration Response Spectra Revision H eBook Shock & Vibration Stress & Strain as a Function of Velocity, Revision Q, eBook link Launch Vehicle POGO, Combustion Instability & Thrust Oscillation: Dynamics, Instabilities, and Mitigation Techniques link Airport, Traffic & Community Noise… Read more

Shock, Vibration, Fatigue & Acoustics Classes Beginning January 2026

Each class and each part is one-hour long. The format is similar to a college semester system. Students will receive IACET CEUs. Class Registration Link Basic Shock & Vibration IntroductionVibration TestingExcitation FunctionsSine VibrationSine Sweep VibrationRandom Vibration StatisticsSDOF Response to RandomNon-Gaussian RandomFourier TransformFFTWaterfall FFTSample RateLeakage &… Read more