Vibration Theory and Terminology: Order

Order refers to how many times an event occurs during 1 revolution of a rotating component.

For example, a tire with 1 high spot would create a disturbance once for every revolution of the tire. This is called first-order vibration.

An oval-shaped tire with 2 high spots would create a disturbance twice for every revolution. This is called second-order vibration. Three high spots would be third-order, and so forth. Two first-order vibrations may add or subtract from the overall amplitude of the disturbance, but that is all. Two first-order vibrations do not equal a second-order. Due to centrifugal force, an unbalanced component will always create at least a first-order vibration.