2101-680 APPLIED MATHEMATICS I

Examination November 2, 2018

(9.00-11:00)
• Optimization
• Numerical Technique for Differential Equations

Q.1
The steel cable is adopted to carry the force F as in the Figure. Please design the
cheapest cable system by varying the height (H) and the diameter of the cable (d) if the
cost of the cable depends on its weight.
Given:
Distance B = 1,000 mm
Force F = 100 kN
Elastic modulus E = 200 GPa
Allowable cable stress = 500 MPa

B B

Cable Length = L

Force = F

1.1 [15] Define the variables and related parameters then write down
(i) the objective function and its associated constraints (if any)
(ii) the necessary conditions
(iii) the sufficient conditions
 1.2 [15] Find the optimal solution of the height (H) and the cable diameter (d) which
yield cheapest cable cost to carry the force F as in 1.1.

1.3 [15] Determine the minimum point of the following objective function with
equality constraint

Objective function: f ( x) = x1 4 + 2 x24 − 4 x23 + 2 x12 + 28x22 + 12 x2 + 10

Constrained condition: x12 + x22 = 16
[hint: the introduction of constraint into objective function is allowed for this problem]
Q.2 Considering the so-called two degree-of-freedom building as shown.

m2
x2

k2
m1
x1

k1

The governing equations which explain how the building move with time under initial
displacement and velocity can be expressed by

 m1 0   x1 (t )  c1 0   x1 (t )   k1 + k2 −k2   x1 (t )  0 
0  +  +  = 
 m2   x2 (t )   0 c2   x2 (t )   −k2 k2   x2 (t )  0 

If it is assumed that the initial displacement and velocity are

 x1 (0)  1  x1 (0)  0 

  =  ,  = 
 x2 (0)  1  x2 (0)  0 

2.1 [10] Transform the above second-order differential equations and their initial
conditions to the equivalent first-order differential equations using unknown “ u(t) ” instead
of “ x(t) ”
 2.2 [20] Numerically calculate the top floor displacement of the building when t =2.5
second. If the Adams-Moulton method is employed from t =1.5 second with the step size
t = 0.50 second.

Given: m1 = m2 = 4 kg, c1 = c2 = 0 Ns/m, k1 = k2 = 1 N/m and the solutions of first

three steps from MATLAB’s ODE45 function are (units: x=m and x =m/s)
[hint: calculate only step 4 and 5]
Step Time (s) x1 x2 x1 x2
0 0 1 1 0 0
1 0.5 0.9 1.0 -0.5 0.0
2 1.0 0.6 0.9 -0.7 -0.1
3 1.5 0.2 0.8 -0.6 -0.4