Fun with Sound Files

Making sound recordings is easy these days given that iPods, iPads and Android cell phones have this capability. Here is a freeware program that can be used to process the sound data: Audacity This program can also convert the sound file from one format to… Read more

Simply-Supported Plate, Bending Modes

The Vibrationdata Signal Analysis Package has a function for calculating the natural frequencies of a plate simply-supported about all edges. The package also has options for calculating the response to base excitation. Vibrationdata > Structural Dynamics > Plates, Rectangular & Circular > Rectangular Plate, Simply Supported The… Read more

Stress-Velocity Relationship

Shock and vibration environments produce dynamic stresses which can cause material failure in structures. The potential failure modes include fatigue, yielding, and ultimate stress limit. F.V. Hunt wrote a seminal paper on this subject, titled “Stress and Stress Limits on the Attainable Velocity in Mechanical… Read more

Some NASA Vibration Videos

This video shows the vibration of consoles in the Mobile Launch Platform underneath the Space Shuttle for the liftoff event. MLP Field Verification Video This video shows the “tennis shoe” method for exciting a rocket vehicle. Saturn V Apollo SA-500F Shake Test at VAB 1966… Read more

Isolator Photo Gallery

SCUD-B Typical Avionics Component The avionics shelves were made from hardwood. The wooden fibers may provide better damping then, say, an aluminum shelf. A possible disadvantage of wood is that the shelf would be unable to serve as an electrical or thermal ground plane. The… Read more