Chapter 3

Two Degrees of Freedom

3.1 Equation of motion of a TDOF system

Fig 3.1

The equations of motion of a TDF system as shown in Fig.3.1 are:

𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 = −𝑘1 𝑥1 + 𝑘2 (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) − 𝑐1 𝑥̇ 1 + 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑥̇ 1 ) + 𝑓1

} ,,,,,,,,,,,, (3.1)
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 = −𝑘3 𝑥2 − 𝑘2 (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) − 𝑐3 𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑥̇ 1 ) + 𝑓2

𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + (𝑐1 + 𝑐2 )𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑐2 𝑥̇ 2 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑥1 − 𝑘2 𝑥2 = 𝑓1

} ,,,,,,,,,,,, (3.2)
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 + (𝑐2 + 𝑐3 )𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑐3 𝑥̇ 1 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑥2 − 𝑘2 𝑥1 = 𝑓2

The above equation can be rewritten as in matrix form:

[𝑚]𝑥̈⃗ (𝑡) + [𝑐]𝑥̇⃗ (𝑡) + [𝑘]𝑥⃗(𝑡) = 𝑓⃗(𝑡) ….. (3.3)

Where, [𝑚] , [𝑐] and [𝑘] are called the mass, damping and stiffness matrices respectively and can be
defined as:
 𝑚 0
[𝑚] = [ 1 ]
0 𝑚2

𝑐1 + 𝑐2 −𝑐2
[𝑐] = [
−𝑐3 𝑐2 + 𝑐3 ]

𝑘 + 𝑘2 −𝑘2
[𝑘] = [ 1 ]
−𝑘2 𝑘2 + 𝑘3

3.1.1 Undamped free vibration

The equation 3.2 can be rewritten for undamped free two degrees of freedom as:
𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑥1 − 𝑘2 𝑥2 = 0
} ,,,,,,,,,,,, (3.4)
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑥2 − 𝑘2 𝑥1 = 0
Let,
𝑥1 = 𝐴 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝐵 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 𝐴1 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
𝑥̇ 1 = 𝐴1 𝜔 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
𝑥̈ 1 = −𝐴1 𝜔2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
And,
𝑥2 = 𝐶 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝐷 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 𝐴2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
𝑥̇ 2 = 𝐴2 𝜔 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
𝑥̈ 2 = −𝐴2 𝜔2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)
Now putting these value in equation 3.4, we get,

−𝑚1 𝐴1 𝜔2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝐴1 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) − 𝑘2 𝐴2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) = 0

}… (3.5)
−𝑚2 𝐴2 𝜔2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝐴2 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) − 𝑘2 𝐴1 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) = 0

Now equatting the coefficients of sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙),

−𝑚1 𝐴1 𝜔2 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝐴1 − 𝑘2 𝐴2 = 0

}
−𝑚2 𝐴2 𝜔2 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝐴2 − 𝑘2 𝐴1 = 0
Therefore, the solution can be obtaned by determination as:

𝑘 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔 2 −𝑘 2
| 1 | = 0 …(3.6)
−𝑘 2 𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔2

After expanding the determinant, the equation becomes:

𝑘1 +𝑘2 𝑘2 +𝑘3 1
𝜔4 − { + } 𝜔2 + {𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘2 𝑘3 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 } = 0 … (3.7)
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝑚1 𝑚2
The roots of the equation or the natural frequencies are:

2
1 𝑘1 +𝑘2
𝜔12 , 𝜔22 = 2 { 𝑚1
+
𝑘2 +𝑘3
𝑚2
1
2
𝑘 +𝑘
𝑚 1
𝑘 +𝑘
} ± √{ 1 2 + 2 3 } −
𝑚 2
4
𝑚 𝑚
{𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘2 𝑘3 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 }
1 2
… (3.8)

So, the complimentarty solution is :

𝑥1 (𝑡) = 𝐴11 sin(𝜔1 𝑡 + 𝜙1 ) + 𝐴12 sin(𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝜓1 )

} ……. (3.9)
𝑥2 (𝑡) = 𝐴21 sin(𝜔1 𝑡 + 𝜙1 ) + 𝐴22 sin(𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝜓1 )
𝐴 𝐴
The amplitude ratio (modes of vibration) 𝐵1 and 𝐵2 can be determined corresponding to the natural
1 2
frequencies 𝜔12 and 𝜔22 .
−𝑚1 𝐴11 𝜔21 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝐴11 − 𝑘2 𝐴21 = 0
}
−𝑚2 𝐴21 𝜔21 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝐴21 − 𝑘2 𝐴11 = 0
And
−𝑚1 𝐴12 𝜔22 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝐴12 − 𝑘2 𝐴22 = 0
}
−𝑚2 𝐴22 𝜔22 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝐴22 − 𝑘2 𝐴12 = 0
Therefore, the above equation can be rewritten as:
𝐴11 𝑘2 𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔12 1
= = =
𝐴21 𝑘1 +𝑘2 −𝑚1 𝜔22 𝑘2 𝜆1
} …..(3.10)
𝐴12 𝑘2 𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔22 1
= = =
𝐴22 𝑘1 +𝑘2 −𝑚1 𝜔22 𝑘2 𝜆2
Again, the eqn.3.9 can be rewritten as below using eqn.3.10 :

𝑥1 (𝑡) = 𝐴11 sin(𝜔1 𝑡 + 𝜙1 ) + 𝐴12 sin(𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝜓1 )

} ..(3.11)
𝑥2 (𝑡) = 𝐴11 𝜆1 sin(𝜔1 𝑡 + 𝜙1 ) + 𝐴12 𝜆2 sin(𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝜓1 )

3.1.2 Undamped forced vibrarion

Now, if we consider forced vibration with undamped condition, eqn. 3.2 can be rewritten as:

𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑥1 − 𝑘2 𝑥2 = 𝑓1
} … (3.12)
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑥2 − 𝑘2 𝑥1 = 𝑓2
Let, 𝑓1 = 𝐹 sin 𝜔𝑡, and 𝑓2 = 0. Then eqn.3.12 can be rewritten as:
𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑥1 − 𝑘2 𝑥2 = 𝐹 sin 𝜔𝑡
} … (3.13)
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑥2 − 𝑘2 𝑥1 = 0
For particular solution, let,

𝑥1 = 𝑎 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑥̇ 1 = 𝑎𝜔 cos 𝜔𝑡
𝑥̈ 1 = −𝑎𝜔2 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑥2 = 𝑏 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑥̇ 2 = 𝑏𝜔 cos 𝜔𝑡
𝑥̈ 2 = −𝑏𝜔2 sin 𝜔𝑡
Now putting these value in equation 3.13, we get,
−𝑚1 𝑎𝜔2 sin 𝜔𝑡 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑎 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘2 𝑏 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 𝐹 sin 𝜔𝑡
} … (3.14)
−𝑚2 𝑏𝜔2 sin 𝜔𝑡 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑏 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘2 𝑎 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 0

Now equatting the coefficients of cos 𝜔𝑡 and sin 𝜔𝑡,

−𝑚1 𝑎𝜔2 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑎 − 𝑘2 𝑏 = 𝐹

} …. (3.15)
⟹ (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔2 )𝑎 − 𝑘2 𝑏 = 𝐹
And,
−𝑚2 𝑏𝜔2 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑏 − 𝑘2 𝑎 = 0
} …. (3.16)
⟹ −𝑘2 𝑎 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔2 )𝑏 = 0
Therefore, we can write,

𝑘 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔2 −𝑘2 𝑎 𝐹
[ 1 2 ] {𝑏 } = { 0 } …. (3.17)
−𝑘2 𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔

Therefore, usign Cremer’s rule, we can find the value of a and b as:

𝐹 −𝑘2
| |
0 𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2
𝑎= 𝑘 +𝑘 −𝑚1 𝜔2 −𝑘2
…. (3.18)
| 1 2 |
−𝑘2 𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2
𝐹(𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2 )
⟹ 𝑎 = (𝑘 2 )(𝑘 +𝑘 −𝑚 𝜔2 )−𝑘 2
….. (3.19)
1 +𝑘2 −𝑚1 𝜔 2 3 2 2

𝐹(𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔2 )
⟹𝑎=
𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 − 𝑘1 𝑚2 𝜔 2 + 𝑘22 + 𝑘2 𝑘3 − 𝑘2 𝑚2 𝜔 2 − 𝑘2 𝑚1 𝜔 2 − 𝑘3 𝑚1 𝜔 2 + 𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔 4 − 𝑘22

𝐹(𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔2 )
⟹𝑎=
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔 4 − 𝑘1 𝑚2 𝜔 2 − 𝑘2 𝑚2 𝜔 2 − 𝑘2 𝑚1 𝜔 2 − 𝑘3 𝑚1 𝜔 2 + 𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 + 𝑘2 𝑘3

𝐹(𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2 )

∴𝑎= … (3.20)
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔4 −(𝑘1 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚1 +𝑘3 𝑚1 )𝜔2 +𝑘1 𝑘2 +𝑘1 𝑘3 +𝑘2 𝑘3
And,
 𝑘1 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔2 𝐹
| |
−𝑘2 0
𝑏=
𝑘 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔 2 −𝑘2
| 1 |
−𝑘2 𝑘2 + 𝑘3 − 𝑚2 𝜔 2
𝐹(𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2 )
⟹ 𝑏 = (𝑘 2 )(𝑘 +𝑘 −𝑚 𝜔2 )−𝑘 2
… (3.21)
1 +𝑘2 −𝑚1 𝜔 2 3 2 2

𝑘2 𝐹
⟹𝑏=
𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 − 𝑘1 𝑚2 𝜔2 + 𝑘22 + 𝑘2 𝑘3 − 𝑘2 𝑚2 𝜔 2 − 𝑘2 𝑚1 𝜔 2 − 𝑘3 𝑚1 𝜔 2 + 𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔 4 − 𝑘22

𝑘2 𝐹
⟹𝑏=
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔4 − 𝑘1 𝑚2 𝜔2 − 𝑘2 𝑚2 𝜔2 − 𝑘2 𝑚1 𝜔 2 − 𝑘3 𝑚1 𝜔 2 + 𝑘1 𝑘2 + 𝑘1 𝑘3 + 𝑘2 𝑘3

𝑘2 𝐹
∴𝑏= …. (3.22)
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔 −(𝑘1 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚1 +𝑘3 𝑚1 )𝜔2 +𝑘1 𝑘2 +𝑘1 𝑘3 +𝑘2 𝑘3
4

Therefore, the steady state equations of motion for the undamped forced vibration are:
𝑥1 = 𝑎 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝐹(𝑘2 +𝑘3 −𝑚2 𝜔2 )
⟹ 𝑥1 = sin 𝜔𝑡 …. (3.23)
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔4 −(𝑘1 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚1 +𝑘3 𝑚1 )𝜔2 +𝑘1 𝑘2 +𝑘1 𝑘3 +𝑘2 𝑘3
And

𝑥2 = 𝑏 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑘2 𝐹
⟹ 𝑥1 = sin 𝜔𝑡 …. (3.24)
𝑚1 𝑚2 𝜔 −(𝑘1 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚2 +𝑘2 𝑚1 +𝑘3 𝑚1 )𝜔2 +𝑘1 𝑘2 +𝑘1 𝑘3 +𝑘2 𝑘3
4

3.2 Lagrange’s Equation:

For generalized coordinates 𝑞𝑖 , Lagrange’s equation can be written as:
𝑑 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝑃.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝐷.𝐸.)
− + + = 𝑄𝑖 …. (3.25)
𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝑞̇ 𝑖 𝜕𝑞𝑖 𝜕𝑞𝑖 𝜕𝑞̇ 𝑖
Using Lagrange’s equation to determine the equations of motion, consider the TDOF model of
Fig.3.1,
1
𝐾. 𝐸. = 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 = 𝑚𝑥̇ 2
2
1 1
= 𝑚1 𝑥̇ 12 + 𝑚2 𝑥̇ 22
2 2
1
𝑃. 𝐸. = 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 = 𝑘𝑥 2
2
1 1 1
= 𝑘1 𝑥12 + 𝑘2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 )2 + 𝑘3 𝑥22
2 2 2
1
𝐷. 𝐸. = 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 = 𝑐𝑥̇ 2
2
1 1 1
= 𝑐1 𝑥̇ 12 + 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑥̇ 2 )2 + 𝑐3 𝑥̇ 22
2 2 2
𝑄𝑖 = 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚.
Now, the equations of motion are:
 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.)
= 𝑚1 𝑥̇ 1 and = 𝑚2 𝑥̇ 2
𝜕𝑥̇ 1 𝜕𝑥̇ 2
𝑑 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.) 𝑑 𝜕(𝐾.𝐸.)
= 𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 and = 𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2
𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝑥̇ 1 𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝑥̇ 2
𝜕(𝐾. 𝐸. )
=0
𝜕𝑥𝑖
𝜕(𝑃.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝑃.𝐸.)
= 𝑘1 𝑥1 + 𝑘2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 )(1) and 𝜕𝑥 = 𝑘2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 )(−1) + 𝑘3 𝑥2
𝜕𝑥 1 1
=𝑘1 𝑥1 + 𝑘2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 ) and = 𝑘2 (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) + 𝑘3 𝑥2
𝜕(𝐷.𝐸.) 𝜕(𝐷.𝐸.)
= 𝑐1 𝑥̇ 1 + 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑥̇ 2 )(1) and = 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑥̇ 2 )(−1) + 𝑐3 𝑥̇ 2
𝜕𝑥̇ 1 𝜕𝑥̇ 2
= 𝑐1 𝑥̇ 1 + 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑥̇ 2 ) and =𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑥̇ 1 ) + 𝑐3 𝑥̇ 2
Now, the equations of motion are:
𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + 𝑐1 𝑥̇ 1 + 𝑐2 (𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑥̇ 2 ) + 𝑘1 𝑥1 + 𝑘2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 ) = 0
=> 𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 + (𝑐1 + 𝑐2 )𝑥̇ 1 − 𝑐2 𝑥̇ 2 + (𝑘1 + 𝑘2 )𝑥1 − 𝑘2 𝑥2 = 0 …. (3.26)
And
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 + (𝑐2 + 𝑐3 )𝑥̇ 2 − 𝑐2 𝑥̇ 1 + (𝑘2 + 𝑘3 )𝑥2 − 𝑘2 𝑥1 = 0 …. (3.27)

References:
1. Mechanical Vibration, S.S. Rao
2. Mechanical Vibration, Schaum’s outline series