3.

8 Mechanical and Electrical Vibrations

Example 1
A mass weighing 4 lb stretches a spring 2 in.
Suppose that the mass is displaced an
additional 6 in. in the positive direction and
then released. The mass is in a medium that
exerts a viscous resistance of 6 lb when the
mass has a velocity of 3 ft/sec. Under the
assumptions discussed in this section,
formulate the initial value problem that
governs the motion of the mass.
Example 2 (Undamped Free Vibrations)
Suppose that a mass weighing 10 lb stretches a
spring 2 in. If the mass is displaced an
additional 2 in. and then set in motion with an
initial upward velocity of 1 ft/sec, and if there
is no damping, determine the position of the
mass at any later time. Also determine the
period, amplitude, and phase of the motion.
Example 3 (Damped Free Vibrations)
The motion of a certain spring-mass system is
governed by the differential equation

u"  0.125u '  u  0,

where u is measured in feet and t in seconds. If
u(0)=2 and u’(0)=0, determine the position of
the mass at any time. Find the quasi frequency
and the quasi period, as well as the time at
which the mass first passes through its
equilibrium position. Also find the time 
such that |u(t)|<0.1 for all t  .