Shock response spectrum

A Shock Response Spectrum (SRS)[1] is a graphical representation of a shock, or any other transient acceleration input, in terms of how a Single Degree Of Freedom (SDOF) system (like a mass on a spring) would respond to that input.

Now, the customer wants to know whether the system will survive a different shock waveform—say, from dropping the chassis from 4 feet above a carpeted floor.

Due to only tracking the peak instantaneous acceleration the SRS does not contain all the information in the transient waveform from which it was created.

The level of damping is demonstrated by the "quality factor", Q which can also be thought of transmissibility in sinusoidal vibration case.

[3] An SRS is of little use for fatigue-type damage scenarios, as the transform removes information of how many times a peak acceleration (and inferred stress) is reached.