Sinusoidal vibration

The relative and absolute response of a mechanical system with a single degree of freedom is considered for arbitrary excitation, and its transfer function defined in various forms. The characteristics of sinusoidal vibration are placed in the context both of the real world and of laboratory tests, and transient and steady-state response of the single-degree-of-freedom system. First viscous damping and then non-linear damping is considered. The various types of swept sine and their properties are described and, for the one-degree-of-freedom system, the consequences of an inappropriate choice of sweep rate are considered. From the latter, rules governing the choice of suitable sweep rates are developed.