Investigation for accelerometer mass effects on natural frequency of magnesium alloy simply supported beam

Abstract

The designers should consider the effects of accelerometer mass in the experimental model analysis of lightweight structures such as MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) devices where it becomes more significant and affects the dynamic characteristics of these structures. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to investigate the accelerometer mass effects on the natural frequency of the simply supported beam made of AZ61 magnesium alloy. Experimental modal analysis is done by the hammer impact testing setup using OROS-34 vibration analyzer to determine the fundamental natural frequency of the beam for different locations of accelerometer. The Euler-Bernoulli beam with concentrated point mass of the accelerometer is considered for analytical calculations and the numerical simulation is done in ANSYS workbench 16.1. It is found that the effects of accelerometer mass depend on its location, vibration mode and magnitude of mass. A good agreement is obtained in analytical, numerical and experimental studies.