
The objective is to determine the various parameters of the system so
that the force transmitted to the ground or the structure that is supporting the
flooring
41
is as small as practical. To do this, we need to examine the ratio of
the magnitude of the force transmitted to the ground f
base
(t) to the magnitude
of the force applied to the machinery f
2
(t). If motions about the static-
equilibrium position are considered, then the equations governing the system
shown in Figure 8.37 are represented by Eqs. (8.60) when we set the spring
constant k
3
, the damping coefficient c
3
, and the force f
1
(t) to zero. Then, the
force transmitted to the ground is given by Eq. (8.89b).
The required transfer function is F
base
(s)/F
2
(s). To obtain this transfer
function, we set all initial conditions to zero and assume that the force applied
to m
2
is an impulse; that is, f
2
(t) F
o
d(t). Then, using Eqs. (8.90), (8.71), and
(8.75), we obtain
(8.162)
where D
2
(s) is given by Eq. (8.74). The transmissibility ratio is defined as
(8.163)
To obtain this ratio TR, we set s j in Eq. (8.162) and substitute the result
into Eq. (8.163) to obtain
(8.164)
where D
2
( j) and B( j) are given by Eqs. (8.102).
The results obtained from Eq. (8.164) are plotted in Figure 8.38 for the
case where z
1
z
2
0.08 and the mass ratio m
r
0.1. The transmissibility
ratio TR is shown as a function of the frequency ratio v
r
and the nondimen-
sional excitation frequency ratio . A point on this graph is interpreted as the
magnitude of the transmissibility ratio for flooring represented by the m
1
-k
1
-c
1
system in Figure 8.37 and harmonic excitation acting on the mass m
2
at the
nondimensional frequency . The transmissibility ratio then provides the
magnitude of the harmonic force transmitted to the ground. In addition, solid
lines have been drawn to delineate the regions where TR is less than or equal
to a certain fraction of the force applied to m
2
that reaches the ground or floor-
ing supports. Consider the case where TR 0.1. Comparing these results with
the TR value of a single degree-of-freedom system given in Figure 5.34 we see
thattogetaTR of 10% we need to have 3.32 in a single degree-of-
freedom system. On the other hand, in the case of a two degree-of-freedom
system, we see that for 1.5 and v
r
0.5 we will attain the same levels. In
other words, the natural frequency of m
2
by itself has to be less than half of
the support/flooring. We also note from Figure 8.38 that for a given TR, the
operating frequency of the machinery is almost linearly proportional to v
r
.
TR `
12z
1
j12B1j2
m
r
D
2
1j2
`
TR 0T
R
1j20
T
R
1s 2
F
base
1s 2
F
2
1s 2
F
base
1s 2
F
o
k
1
12z
1
s 12X
1
1s 2
F
o
12z
1
s 12B1s 2
m
r
D
2
1s 2
526 CHAPTER 8 Multiple Degree-of-Freedom Systems
x
1
x
2
, f
2
(t)
k
2
c
2
k
1
c
1
m
2
m
1
Machinery
Floor
Ground
FIGURE 8.37
Representative two degree-of-
freedom system for vibration
transmission model.
41
J. A. Macinante, Seismic Mountings for Vibration Isolation, John Wiley & Sons, NY, Chapter 8
(1984).