Spring-Action Teeter Totter Natural Frequency

Teeter-Totter, Playground along Riverview Blvd, Kent, Washington State I gave the teeter-totter an initial displacement, without human riders, and recorded the damped sine oscillation with my Android smartphone accelerometer app. The natural frequency was 2.1 Hz with 0.6% damping. The frequency would decrease with riders.… Read more

Goodtime III Sound & Vibration

My family and I recently took the Argosy Lock Cruise from Lake Union, through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, to the Seattle Waterfront, aboard the Goodtime III. The ship’s main engines are Caterpillar 3408’s coupled with Twin Disc MG514 reduction gears. Auxiliary power is supplied… Read more

Pedestrian Tunnel Acoustics

Pedestrian tunnel below Hayden Rd, Scottsdale, Arizona The tunnel is north of Indian School Rd & south of Camelback Rd. It is connected to the Indian Bend Wash which has a series of parks and a golf course along its length. The tunnel is about… Read more