3.

2 Force Balance and Moment-Balance Methods 73

Equation (3.8) is the governing equation of motion of a single degree-of-

freedom system for oscillations about the static-equilibrium position given by
Eq. (3.7). Note that the gravity loading does not appear explicitly in Eq. (3.8).
For this reason, in development of models of linear vibratory systems, the
measurement of displacement from the static-equilibrium position turns out
to be a convenient choice, since one does not have to explicitly take the static
loading into account.
The left-hand side of Eq. (3.8) describes the forces from the components
that comprise a single degree-of-freedom system. The right-hand side repre-
sents the external force acting on the mass. Examples of external forces act-
ing on a mass are fluctuating air pressure loading such as that on the wing of
an aircraft, fluctuating electromagnetic forces such as in a loudspeaker coil,
electrostatic forces that appear in some microelectromechanical devices,
forces caused by an unbalanced mass in rotating machinery (see Section 3.5),
and buoyancy forces on floating systems. The system represented by Eq. (3.8)
is a linear, ordinary differential equation with constant coefficients m, c,
and k. As mentioned in Sections 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4, these quantities are also
referred to as system parameters.

Horizontal Vibrations of a Spring-Mass-Damper System

c In Figure 3.2, a mass moving in a direction normal to the direction of gravity
is shown. It is assumed that the mass moves without friction. The unstretched
Y
length of the spring is L, and a fixed point O is located at the unstretched po-
k j sition of the spring, as shown in the figure. Noting that the spring does not un-
O X dergo any static deflection and carrying out a force balance along the i direc-
i tion gives Eq. (3.8) directly. Here, the static-equilibrium position x
0
c
coincides with the position corresponding to the unstretched spring.
m g
Force Transmitted to Fixed Surface
k
From Figure 3.1, we see that the total reaction force due to the spring and the
x .. damper on the fixed surface is the sum of the static and dynamic forces. Thus,
mx
. .
cx cx dx
m
f(t) FR
kdst  kx  c (3.9)
dt
⎭
⎬
⎫

⎭
⎬
⎫

kx kx Static Dynamic
component component

FIGURE 3.2 If we consider only the dynamic part of the reaction force—that is, only those
Horizontal vibrations of a spring- forces created by the motion x(t) from its static equilibrium position—then
mass-damper system. Eq. (3.9) leads to
dx
FRd
c  kx (3.10)
dt
where x(t) is the solution of Eq. (3.8). Equation (3.10) is used in later chap-
ters to determine the force transmitted to the ground (Section 5.4) or the force
transmitted to the mass when the base is in motion (Sections 5.5 and 6.7).
In the following two examples, we show how to obtain the governing
equation for a system subjected to an external force that has a static component
and how to linearize a system that has a spring with a quadratic nonlinearity.