Module 1 – Applications

Dr. T. Phaneendra
February 15, 2022

1 Spring-Mass Systems: Free Undamped Motion

Suppose that an elastic metal spring is suspended vertically from a rigid support and a mass 𝑚 is attached to its
free end. The mass stretches the spring by 𝑠 units. The amount of stretch (or elongation) of the spring depends on
the mass. By Hooke’s law, the spring itself exerts a restoring force 𝐹 against the elongation and is proportional to
the amount of elongation 𝑠. That is, 𝐹 ∝ 𝑠 or 𝐹 = 𝑘 𝑠, where the constant of proportionality 𝑘 is called the spring
constant. In the equilibrium position, the weight 𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 of the mass 𝑚 is balanced by the restoring force 𝐹 = 𝑘 𝑠.

Once, the mass is disturbed from the mean position, its vertical displacement 𝑥(𝑡) is described by the linear second
order differential equation:

d2 𝑥
𝑚 + 𝑘𝑥 = 0. (1.1)
d𝑡 2
Dividing (1.1) by 𝑚, we get

d2 𝑥
+ ω2 𝑥 = 0, (1.2)
d𝑡 2
√︁
where ω = 𝑘/𝑚. Equation (1.2) is said to describe simple harmonic motion or free undamped motion. Since the
vibrations are periodic, the general solution of (1.2) is

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑐 1 cos ω𝑡 + 𝑐 2 sin ω𝑡, (1.3)

where the period and the frequency of the free vibrations are given by 𝑇 = 2π/ω
√︃ and 𝑓 = 1/𝑇 = ω/2π respectively.
The maximum vertical displacement of a vibration, called its amplitude is 𝐴 = 𝑐21 + 𝑐22 . The two initial conditions
of this problem are

𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 (Initial Displacement), (1.4)

0
𝑥 (0) = 𝑣 0 (Initial Velocity). (1.5)

1
DET (BMAT102L) Module 1

Remark 1.1 The weight 𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 of a mass is measured in pounds. In engineering problems, the units of 𝑤
are converted to units of mass. In fact, 𝑚 = 𝑊/𝑔 is in slugs, grams or kilograms according as 𝑔 = 32 𝑓 𝑡/𝑠2 ,
𝑔 = 980 𝑐𝑚/𝑠2 or 𝑔 = 9.8 𝑚/𝑠2 respectively.

2 Spring-Mass Systems: Free Damped Motion

Suppose that the mass is suspended in a viscous medium or connected to a dashpot damping device:

In mechanics, damping force acting on a body is considered to be proportional to a power of the instantaneous
velocity. That is 𝐹𝑑 ∝ 𝑑𝑑𝑡𝑥 or 𝐹𝑑 = 𝛽 𝑑𝑑𝑡𝑥 . When no other external forces are impressed on the system, the vertical
vibrations are described by

d2 𝑥 d𝑥
𝑚 2
+ 𝛽 + 𝑘𝑥 = 0. (2.1)
d𝑡 d𝑡

3 Spring-Mass Systems: Forced Vibrations

When a periodic impressed force 𝑓 (𝑡) is acting on the system, under no damping force, the vertical vibrations are
governed by

d2 𝑥
𝑚 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝑓 (𝑡). (3.1)
d𝑡 2
When a periodic impressed force 𝑓 (𝑡) is acting on the system, under the influence of the damping force, the motion
of the mass is governed by

d2 𝑥 d𝑥
𝑚 2
+ 𝛽 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝑓 (𝑡). (3.2)
d𝑡 d𝑡

4 Series Circuit Analogue: Free and Forced Oscillations

Consider a single-loop 𝐿𝑅𝐶-series electrical circuit, containing an inductor, resistor and capacitor, which is
externally driven by an external emf 𝐸 = 𝐸 (𝑡), as shown below:

The current in the circuit after the switch is closed is denoted by 𝑖 = 𝑖(𝑡), the charge on the capacitor at time 𝑡 is
denoted by 𝑞 = 𝑞(𝑡). The letters 𝐿, 𝑅, and 𝐶 are known as inductance, resistance, and capacitance, respectively,
and are generally constants. The voltage drops across these components are given in the following diagram:

Dr. T. Phaneendra 2 511, A10, SJT

DET (BMAT102L) Module 1

Now according to Kirchhoff’s second law, the impressed voltage 𝐸 (𝑡) on a closed loop must equal the sum of the
voltage drops in the loop. Then

d𝑖 1
𝐿 + 𝑖𝑅 + 𝑞 = 𝐸 (𝑡). (4.1)
d𝑡 𝐶
d𝑞
Since the rate of flow of the charge is the current, that is 𝑖 = d𝑡 , (4.1) reduces to a linear second order differential
equation:

d2 𝑞 d𝑞 1
𝐿 2
+𝑅 + 𝑞 = 𝐸 (𝑡). (4.2)
d𝑡 d𝑡 𝐶
Thus the charge 𝑞 that will be stored on the capacitor at any time 𝑡 can be determined by solving (4.2), subject to
the initial conditions:

𝑞(0) = 𝑞 0 (Initial Charge), (4.3)

0
𝑞 (0) = 𝑖0 (Initial Current). (4.4)

If 𝐸 (𝑡) = 0, the electrical oscillations in the circuit are said to be free. Since the auxiliary equation for (4.2)
is 𝐿𝑚 2 + 𝑅𝑚 + 1/𝐶 = 0, there will be three forms of the solution with 𝑅 ≠ 0, depending on the value of the
discriminant 𝑅 2 − 4𝐿/𝐶. We say that the circuit is

overdamped, if 𝑅 2 − 4𝐿/𝐶 > 0,

critically damped, if 𝑅 2 − 4𝐿/𝐶 = 0,
and underdamped, if 𝑅 2 − 4𝐿/𝐶 < 0.

In each of the three cases the general solution of (4.2) contains the factor 𝑒 −𝑅𝑡/2𝐿 , and so 𝑞(𝑡) → 0 as 𝑡 → ∞. In
the case of underdamping, when 𝑞(0) = 𝑞 0 , the charge on the capacitor oscillates as it decays. In other words, the
capacitor is charging and discharging as 𝑡 → ∞. When 𝐸 (𝑡) = 0 and 𝑅 = 0, the circuit is said to be undamped
and the electrical vibrations do not approach zero as 𝑡 increases without bound, and the response of the circuit is
simple harmonic.

When there is an impressed voltage 𝐸 (𝑡) on the circuit, the electrical vibrations are said to be forced. When 𝑅 ≠ 0,
the complementary function 𝑞 𝑐 (𝑡) of (4.2) is called a transient solution. If 𝐸 (𝑡) is periodic or a constant, then the
particular solution 𝑞 𝑝 (𝑡) of (4.2) is a steady-state solution.

Dr. T. Phaneendra 3 511, A10, SJT