Mobile vibration measurement by smartphone

MEq
By MEq November 25, 2017 16:18

Mobile vibration measurement by smartphone

ContiTech Vibration Control is offering a new mobile service. The ViProtect app enables vibration analysis using a smartphone. Whether in driver’s cabs, engines or other industrial devices, excessive vibrations put a strain on components, resulting in expensive and time-consuming downtimes and repairs. The vibrations and associated noise also cause stress for the vehicle drivers and machine operators, who are usually subjected to these disruptive factors for hours.

Taking accurate measurements helps to assess the vibration behavior of industrial vehicles and machinery. The data recorded form the basis for allowing for a better system design. For example, experts can objectively rate road performance, better evaluate existing systems, and carry out simulations with real data – for both new developments and existing systems. Service life and comfort increase in the long term.

ContiTech Vibration Control has developed the ViProtect app for initial vibration measurement on site. It not only measures vibrations, but also suggests mount elements and displays their technical data. It can be installed free of charge by users in the European Union and Switzerland and runs on both iOS and Android operating systems.

With industrial vehicles, external excitation from driving and day-to-day operations or excitation through engine vibrations cause vibrations in the machine and noise pollution. This is at the expense of the driver, who is usually exposed to vibrations and noise in the driver cab for hours at a time. However, the vehicle itself is also affected by vibrations.

Basis for detailed analysis
“The app offers a way to conduct an initial vibration measurement on site and for simplified design of elastic mounts,” says Dr. Stefan Narberhaus, head of industrial development at ContiTech Vibration Control. “However, the accuracy of the results is limited. The application also cannot check, for example, whether the suggested products are suitable for the respective installation space.” Therefore, ContiTech experts recommend having the app’s suggestions checked by one of the company’s application engineers.

Other processes, such as the finite element method (FEM), with which the stress scenarios are simulated in a 3D model, or multibody simulation (MKS), with which ContiTech determines the best possible mount and calculates its optimal position, offer more detailed options for the analysis. To check the effectiveness of the measurements taken, the ContiTech experts can also run a final check on the modified system.

MEq
By MEq November 25, 2017 16:18