1

Preliminaries

The subject of mechanical vibrations is primarily concerned with the study of re-
peated, or nearly repeated, motion of mechanical systems. As engineers, we may be
interested in avoiding excessive vibration in a structure, machine or vehicle, or we
may wish to induce certain types of vibrations in a very precise manner. Stealth of a
submarine is intimately connected to vibration suppression, and earthquakes can have
dramatic effects on engineering structures. The response and durability of an engi-
neering system to short duration, high intensity, loading is a function of the vibration
characteristics of the system as well. Most of us have experienced the effects of vibra-
tions in our everyday lives. We might feel undesirable vibrations in an automobile, or
similarly while riding a bicycle. Likewise we might observe the vibration of an air-
plane wing while flying to or from a vacation, on our way to visiting friends or rela-
tives, or while traveling on business. We all enjoy the benefit of vibrations when we
have a conversation on a telephone or when we listen to music coming from our ste-
reo speakers. Even our ability to speak stems from the vibrations of our vocal chords.
The earliest modern scientific studies of vibrations are generally attributed to
Galileo, who examined the motion of the simple pendulum and the motion of strings.
Based on his observations, Galileo arrived at a relationship between the length of the
pendulum and its frequency and described the phenomenon of resonance, whereby a
system exhibits large amplitude vibrations when excited at or near its natural fre-
quency. Galileo also observed the dependence of the frequencies of a string on its
length, mass density and tension, and made comparisons with the behavior of the
pendulum. The fundamental understanding of mechanical vibrations was advanced in
the centuries that followed, with the development and advancement of mechanics and
the calculus. Investigations toward this end continue to the present day.

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2 Engineering Vibrations

Figure 1.1 A two bar mechanism.

To study vibrations properly we must first understand and bring into context
certain preliminary material that will be used throughout this text. Much of this mate-
rial is presented in the present chapter, while other material of this type is introduced
and discussed in subsequent chapters of this book as needed. The preliminary mate-
rial presented in this chapter includes a discussion of the concepts of degrees of free-
dom, mathematical modeling and equivalent systems, and a review of complex num-
bers. The chapter finishes with an extensive review of elementary dynamics.

1.1 DEGREES OF FREEDOM

When we study the behavior of a system we need to choose parameters that describe
the motion of that system and we must make sure that we are employing enough pa-
rameters to characterize the motion of interest completely. That is to say, if we know
the values of these variables at a particular instant in time then we know the configu-
ration of the system at that time. Consider, for example, the two (rigid) bar mecha-
nism shown in Figure 1.1. Note that if we know the location of pins B and C at any
time, then we know the configuration of the entire system at that time, since the
lengths of the rigid rods are specified. That is, we know the location of every particle
(e.g., point) of the system. It may be noted that the location of pins B and C may be
characterized in many ways, some more efficient than others. We may, for example,
describe their locations by their Cartesian coordinates (xB , yB) and (xC , yC), or we may
describe their locations by the angular coordinates AB and BC, as indicated. Both sets
of coordinates describe the configuration of the mechanism completely. A combina-
tion of the two sets of coordinates, say (xB , yB) and BC , also describes the configura-
tion of the system. It may be seen, however, that if we choose the angular coordinates
then we only need two coordinates to describe the configuration of the system, while
if we choose the Cartesian coordinates we need four, and if we choose the mixed set
of coordinates we need three. We see that, for this particular system, the minimum
number of coordinates needed to characterize its configuration completely is two.
This minimum number of coordinates is referred to as the degrees of freedom of the
system. We also note that the two angular coordinates may not be expressed in terms
of one another. They are said to be independent in this regard. In general then, the
number of degrees of freedom of a system refers to the number of independent coord-
1 Preliminaries 3

Figure 1.2 Sample single degree of freedom systems: (a) mass-spring system, (b) simple
pendulum.

inates needed to describe its configuration at any time. Examples of one degree of
freedom (1 d.o.f.) systems, two degree of freedom systems (2 d.o.f.), ‘N’ degree of
freedom systems (N d.o.f. — where N is any integer) and continuous (infinite degree
of freedom) systems are discussed in the remainder of this section.

Single Degree of Freedom Systems

Single degree of freedom systems are the simplest systems as they require only one
independent coordinate to describe their configuration. The simplest example of a
single degree of freedom system is the mass-spring system shown in Figure 1.2a. For
the system shown, the coordinate x indicates the position of the mass measured rela-
tive to its position when the massless elastic spring is unstretched. If x is known as a
function of time t, that is x x(t) is known, then the motion of the entire system is
known as a function of time. Similarly, the simple pendulum shown in Figure 1.2b is
also a one degree of freedom system since the motion of the entire system is known if
the angular coordinate is known as a function of time. Note that while the position
of the bob may be described by the two Cartesian coordinates, x(t) and y(t), these
coordinates are not independent. That is, the Cartesian coordinates (x , y ) of the bob
are related by the constraint equation, x2 y2 L2. Thus, if x is known then y is
known and vice versa. Further, both x(t) and y(t) are known if (t ) is known. In ei-
ther case, only one coordinate is needed to characterize the configuration of the sys-
tem. The system therefore has one degree of freedom.

Two Degree of Freedom Systems

The two bar mechanism described in the introduction of this section was identified as
a two degree of freedom system. Two other examples include the two mass-spring
system shown in Figure 1.3a and the double pendulum depicted in Figure 1.3b. In the
first case, the configuration of the entire system is known if the position of mass m1 is
4 Engineering Vibrations

Figure 1.3 Sample two degree of freedom systems: (a) two-mass two-spring system, (b) dou-
ble pendulum.

known and the position of mass m2 is known. The positions are known if the coordi-
nates u1 and u2 are known, where u1 and u2 represent the displacements of the respec-
tive masses from their equilibrium configurations. Likewise, the motion of the double
pendulum is known if the angular displacements, 1 and 2, measured from the verti-
cal equilibrium configurations of the masses, are known functions of time.

General Discrete Multi-Degree of Freedom Systems

Two degree of freedom systems are a special case of multi-degree of freedom sys-
tems (systems with more than 1 d.o.f.). Thus, let us consider general N degree of
freedom systems, where N can take on any integer value as large as we like. Exam-
ples of such systems are the system comprised of N masses and N 1 springs shown
in Figure 1.4a, and the compound pendulum consisting of N rods and N bobs shown
in Figure 1.4b and the discrete model of an aircraft structure depicted in Figure 1.4c.

Continuous Systems
To this point we have been discussing discrete systems — systems that have a finite
(or even infinite) number of masses separated by a finite distance. Continuous sys-
tems are systems whose mass is distributed continuously, typically over a finite do-
main. An example of a continuous system is the elastic beam shown in Figure 1.5.
For the case of a linear beam (one for which the strain-displacement relation contains
only first order terms of the displacement gradient), the transverse motion of the
beam is known if the transverse deflection, w(x, t), of each particle located at the co-
ordinates 0 x L along the axis of the beam is known.
1 Preliminaries 5

Figure 1.4 Sample N-degree of freedom systems: (a) N-mass N 1-spring system, (b) com-
pound pendulum, (c) discrete model of aircraft structure.

The systems we described above are all examples of mathematical models that
may represent actual systems. Each has its place depending, of course, on the particu-
lar system and the degree of accuracy required for the given application. In most
cases there is a tradeoff between accuracy and facility of solution. Too simple a
model may not capture the desired behavior at all. Too complex a model may not be
practical to solve, or may yield results that are difficult to interpret. The modeler must
choose the most suitable representation for the task at hand. In the next section we
shall discuss how some complicated systems may be modeled as much simpler sys-
tems. Such simplifications can often capture dominant behavior for certain situations.
We shall examine the vibrations of single degree of freedom systems in the next three
chapters. The behavior of discrete multi-degree of freedom systems and continuous
systems will then be examined in subsequent chapters. The richness of the behavior
of such systems and the restrictions imposed by simplified representations will also
be discussed.

Figure 1.5 Elastic beam: an example of a continuous system.