Customer Reviews

Mechanical Vibrations (Dover Civil and Mechanical Engineering)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a reprint of a classic text, used at Harvardfor many years. The reprint has lots of problems solved in the text and plenty of good problems for the reader to solve. Very application oriented problems covering rotating, and vibrating real world machinery. You can lear n a lot from this text by reading and doing the problems, none of which require a much math beyond algebra and first year calculus. I do practical vibration analysis daily in my work and this and Schaum's outlines are what I would recommend if you have to teach others the basics of vibration for solving typical practical problems.

I feel the title "Physics of mechanical vibrations" would be more suitable for this book. The author justifies (by physical explaination) each and every mathematical result in the book. THe end of the book excercises are applicaiton oriented and author makes us to think and apply the techniques learned from the book to a real world problem. One can suppliment this book with Timoshenko's "Vibration problems in engineering". Both books are nice and explain the theory with practical applications.

This book really emphasizes the understanding of basic physical principles in solving vibration problems. Although first published in the early 30s, most of the contents are still up to date. The chapter on self-excited vibrations is great.

I've seen several books on mechanical vibrations over the years, and this is the best by far - and the cheapest. Hartog covers the spectrum of mechanical vibrations as they are used in engineering with great in-depth explanations, detailed illustrations that help you visualize what is being discussed, and solved problems throughout the book. He just doesn't jump into what can sometimes be involved mathematics either. He always takes the time to show the details of any mathematics used in solving problems, although I recommend you understand calculus before starting out.

Mechanical Vibrations is a great reference book for the mechanical engineer. The print readability is not as good as modern textbooks but it contains all of the same information with real application and much more (which isn't always found in modern textbooks). It contains a great number of specialized applications such as airplane wing flutter, galloping of power lines and instability criterion (analogous to control systems stability criterion). This book helped me (entry level engineer) take a different perspective of real world engineering. It is also very similar to S. Timoshenko's Vibration Problems in Engineering. This book fills in the holes the Timoshenko left out such as an appendix of equivalent spring constants, natural frequencies and frequency modes corresponding to beams, springs and multiple DOF systems.

Hey this guy taught at MIT for years - it is the best analytical treatise on the subject in 1934 (and BTW, Physics has not changed since then).

I LOVED the book - it covered FUNDAMENTAL points that are timeless.

KUDOS to Dr. Den Hartog, and Rest in Peace - your contrbutions in this arena will never be forgotten.

"Mechanical Vibration" is a great value for those interested in obtaining a "feel" for vibration phenomenon and theory. The book is pedagogically oriented and well-written, with the reader always in mind. It contains good basic coverage for both one and two degree-of-freedom systems. Some basic calculus and understanding of complex numbers is assumed. In addition, there is a lot of practical material on internal combustion engines, the balancing of rotating machinery, self-excited vibrations, and vibration tuning and management. Although the book is quite old, it remains a very nice introduction to the field. I only wish I had known about it when taking vibration class in college. It would have been a good supplement to the required text.

This is the book with which I introduced myself to the fascinating subject of mechanical vibrations. Although written more than 50 years ago I have yet to find a book that is as clear, pedagogical and so full of no-nonsense content as this one. Some topics are understandably outdated, but the physical basis is still as valid today as when the book was written. If you are interested in mechanical vibrations, try first this excellent inexpensive book before others. A good background in calculus as well as some degree of physical maturity and insight will help you get the most out of it.

Well written; very clear; many practical examples of rotating machinery which are useful in design of structures to resist vibrations. This book gives true return on the dollar spent for same. den Hartog's explanations appreciated by students. Highly recommend as supplemental text or stand alone text for this topic in dynamics or vibrations courses.

This is a good book for understanding the mathematics behind vibrations. The book initially contained basically everything known about the subject at the time it was written (1930s). Its only deficiency is its age. It does not cover modern developments such as the use of computers, numerical methods or FEM/FEA in vibration analysis. It also relates how the equations derived can be used for electromagnetic vibrations, providing nice insight into the power of the mathematics it discusses.