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Mechanical Engineering

Dynamic & Smart Systems Lab

About the Lab

Location: Brown Hall Room 117

Coordinators: Steve Anton

The Dynamic and Smart Systems Laboratory is directed by Dr. Steven R. Anton and seeks to advance the knowledge of smart materials and dynamic systems. Our research explores various smart materials (piezoelectric, thermoelectric, solar, electroactive polymers, etc.) for energy harvesting, structural health monitoring, sensing, and actuation. Thrust areas include self-powered biomedical sensing, real-time state detection, and piezoelectric energy harvesting. Additionally, we are interested more broadly in vibrations, structural dynamics, and modal analysis.

Dynamic and Smart Systems Lab diagram

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Lab Features & Highlights

A variety of test and measurement equipment is available in the laboratory.  A representative list of major equipment is given here.

Polytec OFV-505/5000 Laser Doppler Vibrometer

The Polytec vibrometer and controller with displacement decoder enable high accuracy non-contact vibration measurements over a broad frequency range.  The system allows for velocity measurements with a resolution of 0.02 µm/s and displacement measurements with a resolution of 0.15 pm and operates in a frequency range of 0 – 2.5 MHz.

Electrodynamic Shaker Systems

Labworks LW140.141-110D6 Electrodynamic Shaker System
The Labworks system consists of an ET-140 electrodynamic shaker with 110 lbf capacity and 1.0” pk-pk stroke, a PA-141 linear power amplifier, and a DB-140 “DuoBase” slip table with 6” x 6” work surface.  The shaker system allows for full dynamic characterization of structures in the range of DC-6,500 Hz.  The shaker can be operated in a standalone configuration or installed in the DuoBase slip table for transverse excitation of test specimens.

Labworks ET139.138-40 Electromagnetic Shaker System
The Labworks system consists of an ET-139 permanent magnet shaker with 40 lbf capacity and 1.0” pk-pk stroke, and a PA-138 linear power amplifier.  This shaker system also allows for dynamic characterization in the range of DC-6,500 Hz.

MB Dynamics C10E Electrodynamic Shaker System
The MB Dynamics system consists of a C10E electrodynamic shaker with 1200 lbf capacity and 1.0” pk-pk stroke, and an LDS DPA-K series switching power amplifier.  This shaker is capable of testing large, heavy payloads in the range of 5-3,000 Hz

LING Electronics LMT-100 Modal Shaker System
The LING Electronics system consists of a LMT-100 electrodynamic shaker with 100 lbf capacity and 1.0” pk-pk stroke, and a STAR-1.0 switching power amplifier.  This shaker is designed for modal testing of large structures and has a unique variable orifice collet-type attachment of the stinger to the test structure.  It is capable of modal excitation in the range of DC-2,000 Hz.  A 3″ armature assembly is also available to allow for a standard shaker configuration.

LDS V203 Electromagnetic Shaker
The LDS V203 shaker is a miniature permanent magnet shaker with 4 lbf capacity, 0.2” pk-pk stroke, and a useful frequency range of 5-13,000 Hz.

LDS LASER USB Shaker Controller

The LASER shaker controller provides full capability control for random, swept-sine, resonance dwell, classical shock, random- and sine-on-random, shock SRS, and field data replication.  It can be used with any of the above shakers to allow for precision vibration control for demanding applications.

National Instruments High Speed PXI Data Acquisition System

This system consists of a PXIe-1082 8-slot PXI express chassis with a PXIe-8840 quad-core LabVIEW Real-Time controller; a PXIe-7975R FlexRIO FPGA Module paired with a NI 5782 IF Transceiver Adapter Module that allows 2 channels of analog input at speeds up to 250 MHz, two channels of analog output at speeds up to 1 GB/s, and data throughput rates up to 1.7 GB/s; and a PXIe-5122 2-ch, 100MS/s Digitizer card.

Dynamic Signal Analyzers and Data Acquisition Systems

Brüel and Kjær LAN-XI PULSE Dynamic Signal Analyzer
This system consists of a Brüel and Kjær Type 3160-A-042 LAN-XI module with six channels (four inputs, two outputs) capable of measurements up to 50 kHz and the PULSE LabShop and PULSE Reflex software suites.  The system allows for a host of vibration and acoustic measurements including Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Constant Percentage Bandwidth (CPB), Order analysis, and time capture analysis.

Brüel and Kjær IDAe PULSE Dynamic Signal Analyzer:
This system consists of a Brüel and Kjær Type 7539 Controller Module (5 inputs, 1 output) and a Type 3035 6-channel input module capable of measurements up to 25.6 kHz and the PULSE LabShop and PULSE Reflex software suites. The system also allows for a host of vibration and acoustic measurements.

National Instruments CompactDAQ Data Acquisition System:
This expandable data acquisition system includes an 8-slot CompactDAQ chassis and various modules including an NI 9234 4-channel IEPE dynamic signal acquisition module that can sample up to 51.2 kHz, an NI 9215 4-channel, ±10 V analog input card, an NI 9221 8-channel, ±60 V analog input card, and an NI 9263 4-channel, ±10 V analog output module.  This data acquisition system can be configured using National Instruments LabVIEW software to perform custom data acquisition tasks and data streaming to disk.

Optical Vibration Isolation Table

A TMC Vibration Control 63E-533 vibration isolation table can be used as the work surface for dynamic measurements. The 30″ x 36″ isolation table contains pneumatically actuated isolation legs for vibration isolation as well as stabilization and auto-leveling. Up to 97% isolation can be achieved at 10 Hz.

Vibration and Acoustics Sensors

DSSL has a wide variety of general purpose vibration and acoustic sensors including ~50 accelerometers (ranging from teardrop accels to seismic accels), ~10 force transducers/impedance heads, and ~15 microphones. Several modal impact hammers are also available ranging from 50lbf pencil-style to 5000lbf sledge hammer-style. A stroboscope is also available for visualization of mode shapes during dynamic testing.

Electrical Test and Measurement Equipment

Oscilloscopes
Tektronix TDS2024B Digital Storage Oscilloscope – 4-channel, 200 MHz, 2 GS/sec
Tektronix TDS2014 Digital Storage Oscilloscope – 4-channel, 100 MHz, 2 GS/sec
(2x) Tektronix TDS210 Digital Oscilloscope – 2-channel, 60 MHz, 1 GS/sec

Function Generators
Agilent 33220A Function/Arbitrary Waveform Generator – 1μHz – 20MHz; Waveforms: Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp, Noise, DC, and Pulse; Logarithmic and Linear sweeps
(2x) GW Instek GFG-8217A Analog Function Generator – 0.3Hz – 3MHz; Waveforms: Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp, TTL, and CMOS; Logarithmic and Linear sweeps

Power Supplies
Agilent E3649A Programmable Dual-Output DC Power Supply – 100 W: 0 to 35 V @1.4 A/60 V @ 0.8 A
BK Precision 1670A Triple-Output DC Power Supply – 90 W: 0-30 V @3.0 A; Fixed 12 V and 5 V outputs
Extech 382213 Triple-Output DC Power Supply – 90 W: 0-30 V @3.0 A; Fixed 12 V and 5 V outputs

High Voltage Amplifiers
Tegam 2350 Dual Channel High Voltage Precision Power Amplifier – 400 Vp-p, 40 mA, DC – 2 MHz
(2x) Midé QPA202 Piezo Power Amplifier – 400 Vp-p, 2A, DC – 8 kHz

Dynamics & Smart Systems Lab

Dynamics & Smart Systems Lab Dynamics & Smart Systems Lab
Dynamics & Smart Systems Lab Dynamics & Smart Systems Lab

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