Computer Aids in Vibrations and Noise Studies

Summary

An outline is given of a vibrations and noise laboratory program in which computer facilities form an integral part. The experiments are arranged in groups in which each group has a common central theme. This is a link which unifies the experiments.

Traditionally experiments in vibrations have been essentially simple, due mainly to the laborious iterative calculations associated with complex systems. However, when these calculations are organized for rapid execution by a digital computer, experiments related to more practical problems may be performed. In this way essential parameters can be varied and their relative trends studied without recourse to a full intensive study of the analysis. This also helps to achieve planning on a block modular basis in which the experiments are completed before the associated theory is presented in lectures. This paper, therefore, demonstrates how greater freedom in planning laboratory classes can be achieved when the computer is featured as an intrinsic element in the procedure. However, the computer must not be used passively to mechanize standard calculations, but to provide a dynamic incentive for the introduction of novel numerical techniques into the analysis.