TheVibrationLab was established on 1st January 2005 at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineeering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). This laboratory was founded by Professor Dr. Zaidi Mohd Ripin. TheVibrationLab is setup to facilitate the study of vibration, sound and motion and its effect on human being. Among the major area of studies are human vibration which include hand-arm vibration and tremor studies of Parkinson's disease patients, automotive vibration which include piston secondary motion, dither effect on drum brake squeal and noise studies that cover micro perforated panel and also motor noise due to the electromagnetic induction of the coil. As vibration is affected by wear, this is also studied in relation to roller bearing wear at asperities level. Recently the lab has embarked on major research in active vibration control using piezo actuator and also voice coil actuator, this is foreseen to become more important to support the work on development of wearable devices which include Parkinson's disease tremor measurement system and active unloading brace for the knee. This is the major endeavour of the lab currently.
Industrial related research is important to us and we have carry out collaboration with large multi nationals such as National Instruments, Motorola and Dyson with the assistance of grant provider body CREST. We value our linkages with the local small and medium enterprise and to date we have collaborated with five companies in developing solutions for them. We foresee more collaboration in the future in the area of providing tailor made solutions for these industries based on our expertise in control and measurement. Research is about human development as much as it is about solving problems and creating knowledge. To date the lab has produced 11 PhDs and 23 MSc graduates of whom we are very proud of as our alumni are expected to be good both in practical measurement and also in analysis and writing as they were trained to do all these while attached to the lab. We pride ourselves with the measurement setup available in the lab which includes sensors needed for vibration and acoustics which include accelerometers, microphones, load cells and laser displacement sensors. You can find the list of instruments available in the instrumentation section. We also develop many of the experimental rigs needed to carry out our research and from these experience we endeavour to build more complicated and state-of-the-art measurement rig in the future. The lab has a very relaxed environment, we are serious in our work as much as we also enjoy life. Once a while we would go out and go trekking or climb mountains together. More often, we will eat out together, an opportunity to share successes and as much as creating the bond.
Currently, there are six reseachers and two technical persons in TheVibrationLab team. The facilities available in the laboratory included:
1) 12 Postgraduate Workstations
2) Research Officer Room
3) Professor/ Discussion Room
4) Meeting/ Presentation Table (10 - 14 persons)
5) Isolated Room (For experiment with high noise level)
6) Store Room
7) Small Class Room (4 - 6 persons)
8) Waiting/ Lounge Sofas (4 persons)
9) 4 Large Workstation Tables (For experimental works and undergraduate labs)
- Undergraduate Laboratory conducted including 1) Experimental Modal Analysis of the Beam, 2) Operational
Deflection Shape Experiment of the Beam, 3) Static and Dynamic Balancing Experiment and 4) Torsional
Experiment
