Fundamentals of Mechanical Vibrations 4600:431

Homework 01
Due: 01 Feb 2016

Name:
Please denote your answers clearly, i.e., box in, star, etc., and write neatly. There are no
points for small, messy, unreadable work. . . please use lots of paper.

References
[1] Kelly, S. G., 2000, Fundamentals of Mechanical Vibrations, McGraw-Hill, 2nd ed.
[2] Balachandran, B., and Magrab, E. B., 2004, Vibrations, Brooks/ColeThomson.
Problem 1: [1, 0117]
Determine the angular acceleration of each
of the disks shown in the figure to the right.
Assume that g = 10m/s2 .

10m/s2

60cm

60cm

4kg m2

4kg m2

20kg

30kg

x1

x2

200N

300N

Solution:
For each system the moment of inertia of the disk is identical, IG = 4kg m2 . Also, the
weight Wi = mi g, i = 1, 2 of the blocks in the system on the left is equal to the force
applied to the cables on the right.
a) For the system on the left, we identify the angular displacement of the disk with and
the displacement of the blocks as x1 and x2 as shown. With these, the kinematics of
this system are described by
aG = x2 ,
2

1 ,
aG = x
1

D = k.

Also, these coordinates can be related as

x1 = r ,

x2 = r .

Momentum balance must hold for every component,

specifically on the disk as well as the two blocks. Therefore we can construct free-body-diagrams on each of
these elements as shown to the right. On the disk,
angular momentum balance yields
X
= IG D ,
= IG k
M G = (T1 r T2 r) k

while linear momentum balance on each block provides

X
F 1 = (T1 W1 ) = m1 x
1 = m1 aG1 ,

X
F 2 = (T2 W2 ) = m2 x
2 = m2 aG2 .

T1

T2

FR
T1

T2

W1

W2

These lead to the following equations

T1 r T2 r = IG

T1 W1 = m1 x1 ,

T2 W2 = m2 x2 .

Combining with the coordinate constraints, we may solve for as

=

(m1 m2 ) g r
(W1 W2 ) r
=
.
2
IG + (m1 + m2 ) r
IG + (m1 + m2 ) r2

For the numerical values of this problem, this reduces to = 2.73rad/s2.

b) For the disk on which the forces are directly applied, we again identify the rotation of

the disk as , so that D = k.

As before, we can construct a free-body-diagram on the

disk as shown to the right. Note that the tension in the
cable has been replaced by the applied forces acting on
the disk. Therefore, angular momentum balance yields
X
= IG D .
= IG k
M G = (W1 r W2 r) k

Thus we can solve for the angular acceleration to be

W1

FR

W2

(W1 W2 ) r
=
IG
For these numerical values we find that = 15rad/s2, which is quite different from the
previous result. The additional mass contained in the blocks significantly reduces the
acceleration of the disk. Note that this value can be obtained from part a) by setting
m1 = m2 = 0, but maintaining the forces W1 and W2 .

Problem 2: [1, 0155]

Determine the deflection of each spring from
its unstretched length when the system
shown is in equilibrium. Assume that in the
absence of gravity the springs are unstretched
in the equilibrium position.

x2
k2

You must draw a separate free-body diagram

on both the disk and the block.

r2

r1

m
G

k1

x1

Solution:
We define three coordinates: x1 is the displacement of the lower mass (and the stretch
in the spring k1 ), x2 measures the stretch in the upper spring k1 , and measures the
rotation of the disk. From the problem statement, there is a configuration in which
both springs are unstretched and each coordinate is assumed to be zero in this position.
Finally, and are defined as shown in the above figure.
A free-body diagram for the above system
is shown to the right. In addition, the acceleration of the lower block and the angular
acceleration of the disk are:
aG = x
1 ,

F2 = k2 x2

D = k.

Finally, the identified coordinates are related as:

T
FR

x1 = r1 ,

x2 = r2 .

The equations of motion can therefore be

developed using linear momentum balance
on the block and angular momentum balance on the disk. On the block:
X
FB = m aG ,



T k1 x1 m g = m x1 .
3

Fg = m g

F1 = k1 x1

Likewise on the disk:

X

MO



T r1 + k2 r2 x2 k

=
=

I G D ,

I G k.

We eliminate T from the two equations of momentum balance to yield:


 

1 k1 r1 x1 + k2 r2 x2 = m g r1 ,
I G m r1 x
and substituting the coordinate relations, we find the one degree-of-freedom system
which describes the motion of this system in terms of :




I G + m r12 + k1 r12 + k2 r22 = m g r1 .
This equation can be solved to determine the general response of the system. In particular, for the equilibrium displacement of the system = 0, so that:
eq =

m g r1
.
k1 r12 + k2 r22

Therefore the equilibrium stretch in k1 and k2 are thus found to be:

x1,eq = r1 eq =

m g r12
,
k1 r12 + k2 r22

x2,eq = r2 eq =

m g r1 r2
,
k1 r12 + k2 r22

Problem 3: [2, 0228]

For a vibratory system with a mass m = 10 kg, k = 1500 N/m,
and c = 2500 N/(m/s), and given that the displacement response
has the form x(t) = (0.2 m) sin((9 rad/s) t), plot the graphs of m x
,
the spring force k x, and the damper force c x versus time. Finally,
combine these and plot the quantity m x
+ c x + k x. Use MATLAB.
Solution:
With the displacement of the system given as x(t) = X0 sin( t). the velocity and
acceleration of the system are
x(t)

= X0 cos( t),

x(t) = X0 2 sin( t).

A sample MATLAB code that can be used to

produce these figures is shown below:

% Define the parameters of

% the response and the system
X0 = 0.20;
omega = 9;
m = 10;
c = 2500;
k = 1500;
% Define the time array
t = 0:0.01:2;
% Define the position, velocity,
% and acceleration
x = X0*sin(omega*t);
v = X0*omega*cos(omega*t);
a = -X0*omega^2*sin(omega*t);
% Plots
plot(t,k*x); title(k x);
plot(t,c*v); title(c v);
plot(t,m*a); title(m a);
plot(t, k*x,r:, t,c*v,r:, ...
t,m*a,r:, t,m*a+c*v+k*x,b-);
title(m a + c v + k x);
xlabel(t);

kx

500
250
0
250
500

c x

10000
5000
0
5000
10000

mx

500
250
0
250
500
10000
5000
0
5000
10000
0.00

mx
+ c x + k x

0.50

1.00
t

1.50

2.00

If this response arose from a mechanical system of the form

mx
+ c x + k x = f (t),
then when the three terms are added together, they must represent the force acting
on the system that produces the motion. Notice that the amplitude of the stiffness
(k x) and the inertial (m x) terms are much smaller than the damping term (c x).
If
we calculate the damping ratio for this system, we find that = 10.2the system is
overdamped and the response is dominated by the damping in the system.
Problem 4:
For a response of the form
x(t) = (0.25m) sin(4 t) (0.125m) cos(4 t),
a) find the amplitude and phase of the displacement;
b) what are amplitudes of the velocity and acceleration;
c) plot the displacement, velocity, and acceleration using MATLAB.
Solution:
a) Any two harmonic functions with the same frequency can be combined as


p
b
a
sin(x) +
cos(x) ,
a sin(x) + b cos(x) =
a2 + b 2
a2 + b 2
a2 + b 2
p
b
= A sin(x + ),
with A = a2 + b2 , tan =
a

Therefore the amplitude and phase of this response are

p
A = (0.25m)2 + (0.125m)2 = 0.280m,


0.125m
= 0.46rad = 26.6,
= arctan
0.25m
and the response can be written as
x(t) = (0.280m) sin(4 t 0.46).
b) Taking the derivatives of the response, the velocity and acceleration become
x(t)

x
(t)

= (1.12m/s) cos(4 t 0.46),

= (4.47m/s) sin(4 t 0.46).

c) These may be plotted in MATLAB using the example code below.

% Define the parameters of
% the response and the system
a = 0.25;
b = -0.125;
omega = 4;
A = sqrt(a^2 + b^2);
phi = atan2(b,a);
% Define the time array
t = 0:0.01:4.00;
% Define the position, velocity,
% and acceleration
x = A*sin(omega*t - phi);
v = A*omega*cos(omega*t - phi);
a = -A*omega^2*sin(omega*t - phi);
% Plots
plot(t,x); title(x);
plot(t,v); title(v);
plot(t,a); title(a);
plot(t, a*sin(omega*t) +
b*cos(omega*t));
title(x);
xlabel(t);

0.5
0.0
0.5
5.0

a(t) = A 2 sin( t )

0.0
5.0
2.0

v(t) = A cos( t )

0.0
2.0
0.5

x(t) = A sin( t )

0.0
0.5
0.0

x(t) = a sin( t) + b sin( t)

1.0

2.0
t

3.0

4.0

Problem 5: [2, 0213]

For the weightless pulley system shown in the
figure, determine the equivalent spring constant.
k1
z1

2
z2

k2

Solution:
We begin with the directions and as shown in the figure. In addition to the displacement of the cable x, we identify the coordinates z1 , 1 , z2 , and 2 as illustrated,
representing the displacement and rotation of each disk.
These five coordinates however are not independent
and must be related through the appropriate constraints.The radius of each disk is assumed to be r1 and
r2 , although we will find that the equivalent spring constant is independent of these values. We also identify
the points shown on the figure to the right. On each
free segment of the cable the velocity of each point is
identical, so that vP = vP1 , vA1 = vA = vA2 , and

vC1 = vC = 0. In addition, the points P1 and A1 lie

on the edge of the left disk while A2 and C2 lie on the

right disk.

P1

G1

A1

A
P
A2

G2

C2

We can express the velocity of P in terms of z1 , 1 , and x as

vP1 = vG1 + 1 rP1 /G1 ,
 

(r1 ) x = z1 + r1 1
x = z1 + 1 k
In addition, right disk rolls on the rightmost cable with no slip, so that the velocity of
G2 can be used to obtain
vG2 =

z2 =

2 rG2 /C2 ,



(r2 ) z2 = r2 2
2 k

Finally, using the velocity of A we can relate the disk coordinates as

vA1 =

vG1 + 1 rA1 /G1 =

 
(r1 ) =
z1 + 1 k

vA2 ,

vG2 + 2 rA2 /G2 ,



(r2 ) z1 + r1 1 = z2 r2 2
z2 + 2 k
7

Combining these three constraints we can relate x, z1 , and z2 as x = 2 z1 + 2 z2 .

Turning to the mechanics of the problem, we can construct a free-body diagram on each disk as shown to
the right. Notice that we have explicitly assumed that
the tension in the cable is constant and equal to the
applied force. This assumption is valid in this case because the disks are assumed to be massless. However,
if the rotational inertia of the disks were nonzero the
tension in the cable would no longer be constant across
each disk.
Applying linear momentum balance to each disk yields
the following equations:
X
F G1 = (2 F + k1 z1 ) = 0,
X
F G2 = (2 F k2 z2 ) = 0.

k1 z1

F
F

F
F

These may be used to solve for z1 and z2 in terms of

F , and returning to the constratin equation described
above:

x =
=

2 z1 + 2 z2 ,


 


2F
4(k1 + k2 )
2F
+2
=
F
2
k1
k2
k1 k2

k2 z2

F =

k1 k2
4(k1 + k2 )

x.

Finally, examining this relation the equivalent spring constant is

keq =

k1 k2
.
4(k1 + k2 )

Problem 6: [2, 0226]

Represent the vibratory system given in the
figure as an equivalent stiffness ke , and equivalent damping coefficient ce .

k1

k2
m

c1

c2

Solution:
We use the coordinate x and directions (, ) as defined in the figure, so that x measures
the displacement of the frame and its acceleration is
aG = x .

In addition, x measures the stretch in each

spring, equivalent to assuming that for x =
0 each spring is unstretched.
A free-body diagram is shown for this system to the right. Note that each force depends on x (or its derivative). The equations of motion arise from linear momentum
balance applied to the frame
X

F s,1 = k1 x

F s,2 = k2 x

F d,1 = c1 x

F d,2 = c2 x

F = F s,1 + F d,1 + F s,2 + F d,2

= m aG ,

(k1 x c1 x k2 x c2 x)
= m x
.

This may be rearranged to yield





mx
+ c1 + c2 x + k1 + k2 x = 0.
An equivalent linear system would have the equation of motion
me x
+ ce x + ke x = 0.
Therefore the equivalent damping and stiffness can be identified from this as
ce = c1 + c2 ,

ke = k1 + k2 .