MECN3027 – Mechanical Vibrations

Name: Student No:

Assignment 6 – Fourier Series (20 marks)

A trolley of mass m kg is attached to a support by means of a spring of stiffness k N/m and a damper c Ns/m. It
has a second spring, of stiffness 2k, that connects it to a cam system (not shown), which induces a displacement
y(t), as shown in the graph. The relevant system parameters are: m = 10 kg, k = 500 N/m, ζ = 0.25, Y0 = 0.05
m, τ = 1 s.

(a) Showing all necessary steps, derive the differential equation of motion of the system.

(b) Determine an expression for y(t) from the graph and use Fourier Series analysis to determine the numer-
ical value of the first four coefficients of terms that would represent y(t) (including a0 ).

(c) Rewrite the differential equation with the forcing function represented by the terms containing the coef-
ficients calculated in (b).