Nowadays, the engineering practice raises far more vibration problems
than can be theoretically explained or modelled. Because Df this,
measurements are used in almost all fields of industry, transportation
and civil engineering in studies of mechanical and structural vibration.
They are an invaluable tool for designing products and machines with
high reliability and low noise level, vehicles and buildings with
improved comfort and resistance to dynamic loads, as well as for
obtaining increased safety of opera- tion and optimum running
parameters. In order to cope with the increasing demand for experimental
measurement of vibration characteristics, young engineers and designers
need an introductory book with emphasis on "what has to be measured" and
"by what means" before learning "how measurements are done". The
expertise to perform vibration measurements must be gained in time, with
every new investi- gation and studied problem . .A detailed presentation
of instrumentation and measuring techniques is beyond the aim of this
book. Such information can be found in product data sheets, application
manuals and hand- books supplied by equipment manufacturers. Only
general princi- ples and widely used methods are presented herein, in
order to provide the reader with an overview of the instrumentation and
techniques encountered in vibration measurement.