Vibration and Acoustics Lab

Mechanical Vibration is an important issue for mechanical fatigue failure, machinery precision, and manufacturing process. The mechanical design in domestic industry is still in a structural static analysis or even just for simple mechanics calculation and neglects the importance of dynamic analysis. On the other hand, the industrial noise problem becomes important for environmental concerns.

Acoustic is essentially vibration energy that propagates in a transmission medium such as air. Acoustics and vibration are interrelated and these mechanical phenomena often have a great impact on our daily lives, from listening to music to vehicle vibrations. Measurement and monitoring of sound and vibration are critical in many industry sectors such as aerospace, construction, automobile, electronics, manufacturing, and healthcare, as it has a great impact on the quality of products and services; performance and reliability of equipment; health and safety of the people.

The laboratory offers opportunities for hands-on, project-based learning and is used in the Mechanical Vibrations, Advanced Mechanical Vibrations, and interdisciplinary Acoustics, Vibration, and Noise Control courses. The laboratory is used in the Mechanical Vibration courses so students gain practical experience with accelerometers and data acquisition to characterize the dynamic properties of structures. In Advanced Vibration, students perform experimental modal analysis via impact hammer and shaker testing to predict, troubleshoot, and/or optimize structural response characteristics.