Modal analysis of 2.5 inch seagate hard disk drive using laser doppler vibrometer

• Main Author: Tay, Meng Heng.
• Other Authors: Shu Dong Wei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Mechanics and dynamics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/39928
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Hard disk drives (HDD) have evolved over the century from being just a part of the desktop PC to being part of almost every electronic gadget that we can find today. From hand held gaming devices to laptops, mobile phones as well as cameras, almost every electronic device with memory storage function will require a hard disk drive. Increase need for portability and mobility of these electronic gadgets raised concerns on the durability of hard disk drives when subjected to vibrations. These led to an increase interest in the dynamic and mechanical properties of the hard disk drives when subjected to shock. In this report, the 2.5 inch Seagate hard disk drive will be analyzed through modal analysis method with the aid of the Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV). The hard disk will be subjected to excitation using an electromagnetic shaker to conduct vibrations test on the hard disk drive. The LDV will proceed to measure the displacements of the disk platter when subjected to vibrations and record the results using the Polytec Software. With the help of the software, natural frequencies will be identified and analyzed. The effects of clamping forces on the hard disk drives and the effects of amplifier gain level will also be investigated in these experiments. In this report, the hardware setup, software setup for Polytec Scanning LDV and implementation of results will be demonstrated on the 2.5 inch HDD. Comparisons will be made with the limited data obtained in the field as many of these researches were based on the 3.5 inch HDD or the 1inch HDD. The limitations of the modal analysis will be discussed and future work on the HDD will be suggested.