H7092

THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

ENGINEERING & DESIGN

BEng (Final Year) and MEng (Year 3) Examinations 2010

DYNAMICS OF MACHINES & VEHICLES

Tuesday 25th May 2010 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Candidates should Answer THREE Questions out of FOUR.

Time allowed: 2 hours.

Where a question indicates the division of marks between different

parts, this information is for guidance only; the examiners reserve
the right to make small adjustments to the division.

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1. Answer both parts of this question.

Part 1: 2D Rigid Body Dynamics

An aircraft wing-flap shown in Figure Q1A, acts as a control surface during landing to
eliminate lift after touchdown on the runway. This is achieved by rapid anticlockwise
rotation of the flap to a near-vertical position where it is held until the forward speed has
dropped sufficiently. Positioning of the flap is achieved by a hydraulic ram force being
applied at point B causing rotation about point A. At the instant shown, the aircraft is
rolling forward at constant velocity and the flap is in the horizontal position being rapidly
turned to land position. The flap has angular velocity  and angular acceleration  in
the directions shown, and the aircraft itself has an instantaneous vertical (oscillatory)
acceleration component a y as a result of the runway being uneven.

i) Write down the absolute acceleration vector of the mass centre G for the flap
in terms of the frame of reference xy shown on Figure Q1A.
[5 marks]

ii) By treating the wing-flap as a plane rigid body with mass m and moment of
inertia I about G, and assuming the force in the hydraulic ram at B is
horizontal, and the reactions at A are Rx and Ry, draw a free-body diagram
for the flap and construct three Newtonian equations of motion for the
prescribed instantaneous motion.
[5 marks]

Y
ay Land Position
A

X 2h
= ●G
h B FLAP ω, α
X
●
AIRCRAFT WING 2h

Direction of aircraft

Figure Q1A

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Part 2: 3-Dimensional Dynamics
An automotive turbocharger is to be assessed for the effect of an unwanted oscillatory
pitching motion on the bearings. Figure Q1B shows a sectioned view of the rotor
mounted in bearings at A and B, with a frame of reference Gxyz fixed to the
turbocharger casing. The rotor can be treated as an inertially symmetric rigid body with
principal moments of inertia Ixx, Iyy, and Izz about the mass centre at point G. Oscillatory
pitching angular motion of the casing about the Y axis is defined as Y   sin( pt ) .
z

y

G    sin( pt )
y y
n

Figure Q1B

Assuming a constant rotor speed n, and noting that Coriolis’

d[ ] [ ]
    [ ] may be used without proof, write down:
xyz
theorem
dt t

i) the angular velocity vector  for the moving frame Gxyz [2 marks]
ii) the angular velocity vector for the body  . [2 marks]
iii) the angular momentum vector of the rotor. [2 marks]
iv) the dynamic moment generated at G about the z axis. [4 marks]

2. For the purposes of balancing calculations, a 4-cylinder in-line engine is examined

at a constant speed of 500 rad/sec. The engine crank order is specified as [1 3 2
4] with equally spaced crank angles of 90°. Each unit idealises to a set of four
identical reciprocating masses of 1 kg and four identical rotating masses of 0.5 kg.
The idealised crank radius for each unit is 50 mm, with connecting rod lengths of
250 mm, and axial spacing between each unit of 100 mm. The mass centre of the
rotating assembly is located midway between units 2 and 3.

Determine the state of external balance of the engine in terms of primary and
secondary forces and moments.
[12 marks]
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If the primary pitching moment my (about the horizontal axis) is to be eliminated,

find the magnitude and relative angular positions of a pair of identical balance
masses to be placed at the crank radius in the planes of cylinders 1 and 4.
[8 marks]

3. Figure Q3A shows a motor-sport car fitted with a special rear spoiler to increase
down-force and to damp out heave and pitch motions of the car. Figure Q3B
shows a simplified 2DOF model to study vertical (heave) motion resulting from
road roughness when moving forward at speed. The model comprises two masses
m1 and m2 supported by vertical linear springs of stiffness k1 and k2 . Three linear
dampers, with coefficients c1, c2, and c3, describe energy dissipation arising from
the effects of tyre, shock absorber, and spoiler damping respectively. Variables z1
and z2 describe vertical displacements of the two masses, and variable y(t)
describes the vertical input displacement arising from forward motion.

z2(t)

m2

Sprung mass

k2
c2 z1(t)

c3 m1
Unsprung mass

y(t)
c1
k1
Figure Q3A

Figure Q3B

i) Draw separate free-body diagrams for the two masses.

[4 marks]

ii) Construct, using Newtonian mechanics, a matrix equation to describe

coupled motion of the system in terms of variables z1 and z2, and identify
the mass, damping, and stiffness matrices [m], [c], and [k], and the excitation
vector p(t ) .
[6 marks]

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iii) The parameter values are m1= 10 2 kg, m2= 10 3 kg, k1= 100103 N/m, and
k2= 100103 N/m. When damping is assigned, the damping matrix [c] is
found to be proportional to the stiffness matrix [k], such that the magnitude of
[c] = 0.02[k]. The modal matrix associated with the dynamic matrix
E  [m]-1 [k] for this system, and the magnitudes of the respective matrix
multiplications [U]T [M ][U ] and [U]T [ K ][U ] are:

0.9987 0.4561 102.36 0  209.96 0

[U]    [U]T [ M ][U ]    [U]T [ K ][U ]     10 3
- 0.0512 0.8899 0 812.79 0 39.62 

Use this information to transform the equations of motion to normal

coordinates and obtain the natural frequencies and critical damping factors
for each of the two uncoupled equations.
[10 marks]

4. Answer both parts of this question.

Part 1: The Principle of Virtual Work

Figure Q4A shows a simple model of a vertical tube to represent the exhaust pipe of an
articulated truck which is effectively supported at the base by a built-in support.

y(x,t)

 (x)

x L

L/2

Figure Q4A
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The pipe comprises a vertical tube of length L, uniform elastic bending stiffness EI, and
uniform mass per unit length m. Half-way up the tube, a linear damper with coefficient c,
is externally fastened to dissipate any lateral motion. Using the principle of virtual work,
write down a free-vibration equation of motion for the pipe in terms of variable z(t)
assuming a generalised displacement of the form y(x, t)   (x)z(t) with displacement
pattern  (x)  (x/L) 2 .
Note: You may use respectively without proof: the single coordinate virtual bending
work term for a beam w B , and two definite integrals for  (x)  (x/L) 2 , namely:

w B     EI( (x)) 2 dx z z ;

L L L 4
 
L
( (x)) 2 dx  ; ( (x)) 2 dx 
 0   0 5 0 L3

[10 marks]

Part 2: Lagrange Equations

A component of a machine is shown in Figure Q4B comprising a rigid bar which rotates
about fixed point O, with a collar of mass mc, fitted loosely to it. The bar of mass mb and
moment of inertia Ib about O, is shown in a horizontal position prior to being released
and allowed to fall through gravity. The mass centre of the bar is at point G, a radial
distance rG from O.

r
collar mass=mc 2nd moment of mass for bar = Ib

rG G
O
mb

Figure Q4B

Write down the potential energy V of the system, for arbitrary angular displacement of
the bar  (t ) and radial displacement of the collar r(t), using a potential energy reference
datum at distance L below point O.
[4 marks]
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Given that the kinetic energy of the system is: T  ( 1 2 I b 2 )  1 2 m c {r 2  ( r ) 2 }, use
Lagrange equations, treating variables  (t ) and r(t) as generalised coordinates, to
construct a pair of equations of motion to describe the dynamic behaviour of the system.

Note: The Lagrange equations may be used without proof in the usual form:

d  T  T V
     Qr (r = 1, 2 , …, m)
dt  q r  q r q r
[6 marks]

End of Paper