Introduction to Signal

Processing

Professor Mike Brennan

 Fundamentals of Signal
Processing
• Classification of signals

• Fourier analysis

• Spectra / Frequency Response Function

 Vibration signals
• Measured quantities (e.g. acceleration, pressure)
which vary with time can be treated as SIGNALS and
can be displayed as a graph of the value of the quantity
against time
v (t )

t
 Vibration signals
• Signals may be classified into different types

Signal

Stationary Non-Stationary

Deterministic Random Transient Continuous

Periodic Quasi-periodic
 Vibration signals
• Stationary – statistical properties do not change with time

•Deterministic – exact value is predictable at all time

•Random – exact value not predictable at any time

•Transient – finite duration

• Periodic – repeats exactly after a period of time

•Quasi-periodic – mixture of periodic signals – non-periodic

 Harmonic motion
x(t )
A


angular
displacement

  t   t

One cycle of motion

2π radians
Relationship between circular motion in the
complex plane with harmonic motion

Imaginary part – sine wave

Real part – cosine wave

 Sinusoidal signals – other descriptions
• Average value
T
1
  A sin t dt
x (t )
xav
T0
For a sine wave
T
t xav  0
For a rectified sine wave

xav  0.637 A
Sinusoidal signals – other descriptions
• Average value

x (t )

DC

Average value of a signal = DC component of signal

 Sinusoidal signals – other descriptions
• Mean square value
x (t ) T
1
   A sin t  dt
2
2
xmean
T0
For a sine wave
x 2
mean  0.5 A 2

• Root Mean Square (rms)

T t
xrms  x 2
mean A 2
Many measuring devices, for example a digital voltmeter,
record the rms value
 Vibration signals
• Periodic or deterministic (not sinusoidal)
x (t )

• Heartbeat
• IC Engine

T T

T is the fundamental period

 Vibration signals
• Transient
x (t )

• Gunshot
• Earthquake
• Impact

t
 Vibration signals
• Random
x (t )

• Uneven Road
• Wind
• Turbulence

t
 Frequency Analysis
• A signal can be represented by its frequency content

• known as its SPECTRUM

• Examples
 Frequency Analysis - Filters
• A FILTER “passes” a narrow range of frequency and
“stops” others

• An “ideal” filter:

Gain

Frequency
 Frequency Analysis - Filters
• Frequency content can be measured using a set of filters…
 Frequency Analysis - Filters

Constant bandwidth filters Constant % bandwidth filters

 Frequency Analysis - Filters
• Common constant percentage bandwidth filters are

Octave and Third Octave Filters

• The centre frequencies of an octave filter set are

f n  fo  2 n

where fo is the bottom filter in the set

and the bandwidth of filter n is

1
fL  fn  fH , fL  fn , f H  2f n
2
 Frequency Analysis - Examples

Narrow band analysis Octave band analysis

 Fourier Analysis
(Jean Baptiste Fourier 1830)
• Representation of a signal by sines and cosine waves

x (t )
+

t
+

+
:
 Fourier Series
• We express this as

x(t )  DC   An sin  2 fn t  n 
n 1
where
th
An is the amplitude of the n component
fn is the frequency
n is the phase
Note that if x(t) has units [V] then An also has units [V]
 Fourier Series
• We can represent the values of An and n versus fn as
Spectra

An • for periodic signals (with period T)

the spacing between the frequency
Components is 1/T Hz

frequency

n
Fourier Composition of a Square wave

frequency
Fourier Composition of a Saw Tooth
Wave

frequency
Fourier Composition of a Pulse Train

frequency
 Frequency Analysis
• For non-periodic signals, we allow all frequencies to
be present.

• Effectively, T becomes very large so Δf (=1/T) becomes very small

• i.e., the spacing between frequency components “tends to zero”

but when this happens the amplitudes of the components
gets very small

• So as An→0 as Δf→0

amplitude An
• So we create  and plot this against f
bandwidth f

• Now if An has units [V] then An/Δf has units of V/Hz which is
amplitude per unit bandwidth or amplitude density
 The Fourier Transform
• Exact relationships exists between a time domain signal
and its frequency spectrum

• The FOURIER TRANSFORM:


V( f )   v( t )e  j 2ft dt

calculates the amount of frequency f in signal v(t) by multiplying the
signal by a sine wave at frequency f and integrating over all time
(Fourier Analysis)

• The INVERSE FOURIER TRANSFORM:


v( t )   V( f )e j 2 ft df

expresses the time signal as the sum of an infinite number of sine waves
(Fourier Synthesis)
 Relationship between data in the time
and the frequency domain
x (t )
rms level
t
1
PSD = lim E  X k  f ,T  X k  f ,T  
 *
T  T

PSD AREA = mean square value

2
X / Hz
AREA
rms level  AREA

f
 Relationship between data in the time
and the frequency domain - example
x (t ) rms level

t x(t )  X sin(t )

2
X
PSD
2
2f
X / Hz

f
f
Relationship between data in the time
and the frequency domain
Parseval’s Theorem

 
1 1
 T  t  dt  T X  f  df
2
x 2

T 

Mean square value Power Spectral Density (PSD)

Integrated over frequency
 Truncation
• Integrating over all time is impossible for measurements
• For transient signals, integrate over duration of signal only..
x (t )

T
 Truncation
• For continuous signals assume signal is periodic with time
period T and integrate over T

x (t )

t
T

x (t )

t
 Fourier Transform
• The Fourier transform gives discrete frequencies at multiples
of 1/T

An

1T

• Hence the FREQUENCY RESOLUTION is dependent on T

1
f 
T
 Windowing
• Truncation of a signal leads to a “smearing” of the spectrum
• Example – truncated sine wave
actual frequency

leakage
time

frequency
• Leakage can be reduced using a “shaped” WINDOW
window

time
frequency
 Windowing
Total length

2
Amplitude

-2

-4

-6
0 50 100 150 200 250
Time (s)

Hanning
Segment
window
Equal Loudness Contours
 Frequency Weighting

A, B, and C weighting networks were derived as the inverse of the 40, 70 and 100 dB
Equal Loudness contours
 Frequency Weighting

unweighted spectrum A-weighted spectrum

dB

+ =

A-weighting curve

f, Hz f, Hz f, Hz
 Frequency Response Function
• The time response of a system to an impulse input is known as
the IMPULSE RESPONSE of the system

system
input excitation output response

• The Fourier transform of the impulse response is known as the

FREQUENCY RESPONSE FUNCTION (FRF)
• The FRF can be measured directly from the spectra of the input
and output signals
Output(f )
FRF =
Input(f )
• Either the impulse response or FRF can be used to characterise
any linear system
 Summary
• Types of vibration / acoustic signals

• Fourier Series

• Fourier Transform

• Spectra (narrow band / octave band)

• Frequency Response Function