Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (PhD)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Advisor 1

James P. DeClerck

Advisor 2

Jason R. Blough

Committee Member 1

Charles D. VanKarsen

Committee Member 2

David M. Labyak

Abstract

Vibration qualification testing is an important requirement in many industries. In-lab testing is intended to evaluate a component’s life expectancy by exposing it to a dynamic environment similar to what it may experience in its field condition. To successfully perform these tests, it is imperative that the field boundary conditions (BCs) of the component of interest are replicated as closely as possible in the lab. One approach to achieving accurate dynamic environment testing is to design a fixture that sufficiently represents the impedance of the next-structure (field structure). The process to design and analyze dynamic environment test fixtures (PDADyE) is a method created to guide users through the process of developing a vibration test fixture that accurately reproduces the components field BCs. These BCs can consist of multiple directions of excitation and attachment locations between the component of interest and its field structure.

The process has been applied to the Boundary Condition Challenge problem and the Box Assembly with Removable Component (BARC) hardware and modified versions thereof. A dynamic fixture was designed, verified, and manufactured for 3 different cases, (1) a one-attachment translation case, (2) a two-attachment translation case, and (3) a two-attachment translation and rotation case.

Throughout the development of these fixture designs and the design process, many primary structure and tuned absorber designs were explored to introduce additional resonances into the dynamic test fixtures with the goal of reproducing the field BCs in the lab.

Download

Share

COinS