Vibration Consulting Services - Overview

Navcon engineers have a strong background in physics, mechanical design, digital data acquisition, vibration and noise. This combination of theory & application, analysis & test allows us to attack a wide variety of vibration or noise related projects. Following is a brief list of our general vibration services:

  • Commercial & Military Vibration Testing
  • Vibration Control
  • Modal Testing

Commercial & Military Vibration Testing

Navcon engineers conduct specification tests to commercial, military and manufacturer standards and guidelines. Commercial tests are often performed to verify compliance with engineering and purchase specifications. Military tests such MIL-STD 740B, 740-2 and 167 Type II are performed to determine whether the system meets shipboard vibration requirements. Navcon's vibration test systems are calibrated in accordance with, and are traceable to the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), military (MIL-STD 45662) and manufacturer guidelines. The test instrumentation is also portable allowing us to conduct tests at customer facilities, on board ships, in aircraft and at remote sites. The Navcon laboratory is equipped with an 18,000 lbf reaction mass table, several damped vibration test fixtures and a base excitation table.

Vibration Control

Navcon provides both problem diagnostic and vibration control design services. Utilizing signature analysis and frequency response testing methods, Navcon engineers: characterize vibration sources, track propagation paths and classify structural response (forced vibration, resonant vibration, instabilities, etc.) Using impedance models and/or finite element methods, Navcon engineers investigate possible vibration control methods including such measures as vibration isolation, surface damping, tuned dampers, stiffness changes, etc. Once the vibration control approach has been selected, Navcon will construct, implement and verify the effectiveness of the fix (click here for a sample project).

Modal Testing

Navcon engineers conduct approximately 10 to 15 modal surveys per year on structures such as automobiles, ships, aircraft, space vehicles, sporting equipment, disk drives, turbine blades, industrial piping systems, compressors, floors & mezzanines, etc. The surveys are usually conducted as part of a vibration control project or for the verification of a finite element model (FEM). The modal test data is often used to create impedance models for sensitivity analyses. Modal parameters (damped natural frequencies, damping factors and mode shape vectors) can be imported into FEM post processors, plotted and animated. Navcon's modal systems are based upon Data Physics Analyzers (Quattro - 4 channel & Abacus - 32 channel), APS Dynamics & Ling shakers, PCB Piezotronics transducers (impact hammers, sledge hammers, accelerometers & load cells), Polytec laser vibrometer and modal software by Vibrant Technology.