KIX1001: ENGINEERING

MATHEMATICS 1
WEEK 7: ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF MATRICES & VECTORS

2017/2018
CONTENTS

WEEK 7: ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF MATRICES & VECTORS ................................................................. 3

7.1 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: BALANCED SYSTEM ....................................................................................... 3
7.2 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ......................................................................................... 6
7.3 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: VECTOR ALGEBRA – HEAD TO TAIL METHOD ............................................... 9
7.4 ENGINEERING APPLICATION; VECTOR IN 3 D SPACE ................................................................................. 12

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ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF
MATRICES AND VECTORS
WEEK 7: ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF MATRICES & VECTORS
7.1 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: BALANCED SYSTEM

The vibration of many mechanical systems can be modelled very satisfactorily by spring and damper
systems. The shock absorbers and springs of a motor car give one of the simplest practical examples. We
start with the very simple situation illustrated in Figure 7.1. Two masses are connected by springs of
stiffness k1, k2 and k3 and of natural lengths l1, l2 and l3, that are fixed to the walls at A and B, with distance
AB=L.

Figure 7.1

It is required to calculate the equilibrium values x1 and x2. We use Hooke’s law – that force is proportional
to extension – to calculate the tension:

T1  k 1 ( x 1  l1 )

T2  k2 ( x 2  x 1  l2 )

T3  k 3 (L  x 2  l3 )

Since the forces are in equilibrium,

k 1  x 1  l 1   k 2 ( x 2  x 1  l2 )

k 2  x 2  x 1  l2   k 3 (L  x 2  l 3 )

We have two simultaneous equations in the two unknowns, which can written in matrix form as

k1  k2  k 2   x 1   k 1 l 1  k 2 l2 
 k 
 2 k2  k 3   x 2  k2l2  k 3l3  k 3 L

It is easy to invert 2x2 matrices, so we can compute the solution as

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x1  1 k2  k 3 k 2   k 1 l 1  k 2 l2 
 x   k  k k  k   k 2  k k1  k2  k2l2  k 3l3  k 3 L
 2 1 2 2 3 2  2

Example: Bungee Jumper

Figure 1:Three individuals connected by bungee cords

Figure 2: Free-body diagrams

Suppose that 3 jumpers are connected by bungee cords. Figure 1 (a) shows them being held in place
vertically so that each cord is fully extended but unstretched. After they are released, gravity takes hold and
the jumpers will eventually come to the equilibrium position as shown in Figure 1(b).

If we assume that each cord behaves as a linear spring and follows Hooke’s Law, free-body diagrams can be
developed for each jumper as depicted in Figure 2.

Forces balanced can be written for each jumper is given by:

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 (k1  k 2 ) x1  k 2 x2  m1 g
 k 2 x1  (k 2  k 3 ) x2  k 3 x3  m2 g
 k 3 x2  k 3 x3  m3 g

The parameters for the problem are:

Jumper Mass (kg), m Spring Constant (N/m), k

Top 60 50
Middle 70 100
Bottom 80 50

Find the displacements x1, x2, and x3 of the bungee cord.

Solution:

k1  k 2  k2 0   x1   m1 g 
 k k 2  k3  k3   x2   m2 g 
 2

 0  k3 k3   x3   m3 g 

g=9.81

150  100 0 588.6  100 0

D   100 150  50  250000 Dx  686 .7 150  50  10300500
0  50 50 784.8  50 50

150 588.6 0 150  100 588.6

D y   100 686 .7  50  13979250 Dz   100 150 686 .7  17903250
0 784.8 50 0  50 784.8

Dx 10300500
x   41.2
D 250000

Dy 13979250
y   55.9
D 250000

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 Dz 17903250
z   71.6
D 250000

7.2 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT

A common problem in electrical engineering involves determining the currents and voltages at various
locations in resistor circuits. These problems are solved using Kirchoff’s current and voltage rules. The
current (or point) rule states that the algebraic sum of all currents entering a node must be zero (Figure 7.2)
or

i  0
where all current entering the node is considered posotove in sign. The current rule is an application of the
principle of conservation of charge.

Figure 7.2: Schematic representations of (a) Kirchoff’s current rule and (b) Ohm’s Law

The voltage (or loop) rule specifies that the algebraic sum of the potential differences (i.e. voltage changes)
in any loop must equal zero. For a resistor circuit, this is expressed as

   iR  0
Where  is the emf (electromotive force) of the voltage sources, and R is the resistance of any resistors on
the loop. Note that the second term derives from Ohm’s law (Figure 7.2(b)), which states that the voltage
drop across an ideal resistor is equal to the product of the current and the resistance. Kirchoff’s voltage rule
is an expression of the conservation of energy.

Example:

Application of these rules results in systems of simultaneous linear algebraic equations because the various
loops within a circuit are interconnected. For example, consider the circuit shown in Figure 7.3. the currents
associated with this circuit are unknown both in magnitude and direction. This presents no great difficulty
because one simply assumes a direction for each current. If the resultant solution from Kirchoff’s laws is
negative, then the assumed direction was incorrect.
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 Figure 7.3: A resistor circuit to be solved using simultaneous linear algebraic equations

Given these assumptions, Kirchoff’s current rule is applied at each node to yield

i 12  i 52  i 32  0
i 65  i 52  i 54  0
i 43  i 32  0
i 54  i 43  0

Application of the voltage rule to each of the two loop gives

 i54 R54  i43R43  i32 R32  i52 R52  0

 i65R65  i52 R52  i12 R12  200  0

Or, substituting the resistance from Figure 7.3 and bringing constants to the right-hand side,

 15i54  5i43  10i 32  10i52  0

 20i65  10i52  5i12  200

Therefore, the problem amounts to solving six equations with six unknown currents. These equations can
be expressed in matrix form as

1 1 1 0 0 0  i12   0 
0  1 0 1  1 0  i52   0 
   
0 0 1 0 0 1  i 32   0 
     
 0 0 0 0 1  1  i65   0 
0 10  10 0  15  5 i54   0 
    
5  10 0  20 0 0  i43  200 

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 1 1 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1
D  1300
0 0 0 0 1 1
0 10  10 0  15  5
5  10 0  20 0 0

0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
D1   8000 D2   6000
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
0 10  10 0  15  5 0 0  10 0  15  5
200  10 0  20 0 0 5 200 0  20 0 0

1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
D3   2000 D4   8000
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
0 10 0 0  15  5 0 10  10 0  15  5
5  10 200  20 0 0 5  10 0 200 0 0

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
D5   2000 D6   2000
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 10  10 0 0 5 0 10  10 0  15 0
5  10 0  20 200 0 5  10 0  20 0 200

D1 8000 80 D2  6000 60
x1    x2   
D 1300 13 D 1300 13

D3  2000 20 D4  8000 80
x3    x4   
D 1300 13 D 1300 13

D5  2000 20 D6  2000 20
x5    x6   
D 1300 13 D 1300 13

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7.3 ENGINEERING APPLICATION: VECTOR ALGE BRA – HEAD TO TAIL METHOD

Examples:

1. A 200-kg cylinder is hung by means of two cables AB and AC , which are attached to the top
of a vertical wall. A horizontal force P perpendicular to the wall holds the cylinder in the
position shown.

(i) Find the coordinate of position A , B and C and their position vectors based on the axis
given in the diagram.

(ii) Identify all the force vectors acting on point A . (Assume g = 9.81ms -2 )

(iii) Determine the resultant of forces acting on point A using head to-tail method.

(iv) Assume the system is in static, determine the magnitude of P and the tension in each
cable.
Solution:

In this example, you should be able to solve 3D engineering problem using vector. Hint: imagine
3D object and translate it in the point point (i.e. A = (1, 2,3) ) , B = (2,3, 4) and vector form (i.e.
position vector OA  1 ,2,3 , OA  2,3,4 & arbitrary vector AB  1,1,1 , BA   1,1,1 )

(i) Find the coordinate of position A , B and C and their position vectors based on the axis given
in the diagram.

A = (0,1.2, 2) , B = (8, 0,12 ) , C = (-10, 0,12)

OA  0,1.2,2 , OB  8,0,12 , OC   10,0,12

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(ii) Identify all the force vectors acting on point A . (Assume g = 9.81ms -2 )

Horizontal force P, & its vector P = 0, P,0 (note it has magnitude P in y direction)
~

Vertical force 200-kg cylinder, & its vector W = 0,0,-1962N (note it has magnitude 1962N in
~

negative z direction)

Tension cable AB, & its vector

The magnitude is unknown (Precaution: the magnitude of vector AB is not equal to the

magnitude of tension TAB )

The direction vector (unit vector) is the same as the unit vector of AB

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(iii) Determine the resultant of forces acting on point A using head to-tail method.

>>>

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7.4 ENGINEERING APPLICATION; VECTOR IN 3 D SPACE

Example:

The wire AE, L1 is stretched between the corners A and E of a bent plate. The wire BF, L2 is
stretched between the position B and F. The wire BG, L3 is stretched between the position B and
G. The wire OA, L4 is stretched between the position O and A.

(i) Find the vector equation of line for wire AE, BF, BG and OA. Hence find the intersection point
between line L1 with L2 ; line L3 with L4 separately if exist.

(ii) Find the equation of plane for S1 from point 0, A & B and equation of plane for S 2 from point
E, F and G if possible. Hence find the intersection line between S1 and S 2 if exist.

(iii) Given the intersection point between L1 & L3 is P (60 15 80) . Find the shortest distance
between intersection point L1 & L3 and plane S1 and plane S 2 respectively

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Solution:
(i)

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(ii)

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(iii)

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