Lecture

05 Single Degree of Freedom Damped Free Vibration

“The simplest model with energy dissipation.”

Chapter outline

Next, the derivation of the equation for the free vibration of a viscously damped single- degree-of-
freedom system and its solution are considered. The concepts of critical damping constant, damping
ratio, and frequency of damped vibration are introduced. The distinctions between underdamped,
critically damped, and overdamped systems are explained. The
graphical representation of
characteristic roots and the corresponding solutions are considered. The equations of motion and
their solution of single-degree-of-freedom systems with Coulomb are presented.

Learning Objectives

After completing this chapter, the reader should be able to do the following:

• Solve a spring-mass-damper system for different types of free-vibration response depending
on the amount of damping. 


• Compute the natural frequency, damped frequency, logarithmic decrement, and time
constant.

• Determine whether a given system is stable or not.

• Find the responses of systems with Coulomb and hysteretic damping. 


INTRODUCTION

We continue the development of single degree-of- freedom models of mechanical systems started in
Lecture 3. More realistic models are developed accounting for system damping. With damping,
system models respond in a manner that better matches our intuition and experimental results.

This lecture introduces the concept of energy dissipation, or damping, for vibrating systems.
Damping is a complex physical phenomenon (it is temperature and pressure dependent) and there
are various sources of dissipation in a system. We will develop mathematical models of damping
that are commonly used in equations governing oscillatory motion. Our focus is on linear damping
models.

Damping mechanisms are not as well understood as are other aspects of vibratory systems i.e.
stiffness and inertia. Damping mechanisms can be grouped into three types:




(1) material damping where energy is dissipated within the body,

Material damping is induced by microstructural strains and relative motion, in particular,

due to imperfections in the atomic lattice structure of the material.

(2) boundary damping where dissipation occurs at junctures between elements of a structure, and

Built-up structures are comprised of hundreds to many thousands of parts that are welded,
riveted, glued, or fastened in other ways. At these interfaces significant friction forces
develop as a result of oscillation and differential movements.

(3) viscous damping due to contact between a structure and a fluid environment where energy is
dissipated into the fluid.

Viscous damping is commonly used in mechanical vibration and in this course as well.

Note: Because of the low levels of damping found in most engineering structures, viscous
damping force models are found to yield acceptably accurate results for most vibration
studies.

Introduction to Damping

Damping refers to the removal of energy from vibratory motion and is primarily associated with the
irreversible transformation of mechanical energy into thermal energy Depending on the mechanism
of energy dissipation, damping can be classified according to the following overlapping characteristics:

• Viscous Damping — In viscous damping the force is linearly proportional to the relative velocity.
The constant of proportionality is the damping constant that is determined experimentally.
Viscous damping is the simplest model of damping. It is used extensively in vibration models,
and it represents a mix of material and structural damping. 


• Coulomb Damping — Coulomb damping, also called dry damping, is a result of the sliding of two
dry surfaces. The damping force is assumed to be independent of the relative velocity of the
two sur- faces, and is the product of the normal force between the two bodies and the
coefficient of kinetic friction.

• Material Damping — In material damping energy is dissipated by deformation in a medium (such

as irreversible inter crystal heat flux or grain boundary viscosity). Dissipation of energy is
an inherent property of the material and is due to material defects or due to rotation or
sliding within the atomic lattice. Such damping can be called internal friction. Material
damping is sometimes modeled as viscoelastic.

• Structural Damping — Damping in assembled structures can include material damping in

members, frictional losses (microslip and macroslip) at contact surfaces (bolted, riveted,
damped, welded connections), dissipation in a medium between sur- faces in relative motion
(gas pumping, squeeze film damping, lubricated bearing).

• Viscoelastic Damping — In viscoelastic damping the damping forces are a function of the history
of the behavior to the present time. The material has “memory” and it is necessary to
integrate that 
 behavior to the present time to model the present behavior. An elastic
damping is a special case of a viscoelastic material that fully recovers its original state with
the removal of the load.

Free Vibration with Viscous Damping

As mentioned in the previous section, a system may lose energy by many mechanisms. In this
lecture we shall consider only the situation in which motion is resisted by a force proportional to
velocity. This is viscous damping and may be represented by the motion of a piston in the dashpot
with the motion resisted by the viscosity of the oil. An additional restoring force 𝑐𝑥 is introduced.
Fig.5.1 shows the spring-mass-damper system.

Fig.5.1 Spring-mass-damper system

The equation of motion is given by effect of viscous damping on the free vibration of a linear system
is governed by

𝒎𝒙 = −𝒌𝒙 − 𝒄𝒙

𝒎𝒙 + 𝒄𝒙 + 𝒌𝒙 = 𝟎 5-1

Rearranging

𝒄 𝒌
𝒙+ 𝒙 + 𝒙 = 𝟎

𝒎 𝒎
𝒙 + 𝟐𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒙 + 𝝎𝟐𝒏 𝒙 = 𝟎 5-2

where 𝜁 is the damping factor or damping ratio and 𝜔2 is the undamped natural frequency.

To solve differential Equation 5-2, a solution of the form 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑒 67 is assumed, This solution
is differentiated and substituted into Equation 5-2 to give

𝒓𝟐 + 𝟐𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒓 + 𝝎𝟐𝒏 𝑨𝒆𝒓𝒕 = 𝟎 5-3

Since 𝐴𝑒 67 ≠ 0, the quadratic equation in the brackets must equal zero,

𝒓𝟐 + 𝟐𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒓 + 𝝎𝟐𝒏 = 0

This algebraic equation is known as the characteristic equation for the system. Solving by the
quadratic formula, the roots are

𝑟?,A = −𝜁 ± 𝜁 A − 1 𝜔2

There are three classes of solutions depending on the value of the radicand 𝜁 A − 1 The class that
arises for repeated roots is 𝜁
= 1 and is known as critical damping 𝑐D6 . It represents the boundary
between aperiodic exponentially decaying motion (overdamped, 𝜁 > 1) and exponentially decaying
oscillatory motion (underdamped, 0 < 𝜁 < 1).

Substituting the roots 𝑟?,A into the assumed form of the solution gives the general form of the
response,

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝜻 − 𝜻𝟐 − 𝟏 𝝎𝒏 𝒕 +𝑨𝟐 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝜻 + 𝜻𝟐 − 𝟏 𝝎𝒏 𝒕 5-4

for 𝜁 ≠ 1 (The assumed solution 𝐴𝑒 67 is not valid for repeated roots. This case is considered
separately in the following section.) The character of the solution depends on the value of the
viscous damping factor 𝜁 .

Critically Damped and Overdamped Systems

For the critically damped system, 𝜁 = 1 the roots of the characteristic equation are equal and real,

𝑟?,A = −𝜔2

For differential equations with repeated roots, the solution is

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 + 𝒕𝑨𝟐 𝒆𝒙𝒑 −𝝎𝒏 𝒕

with the second term, 𝑡𝐴A 𝑒𝑥𝑝 −𝜔2 𝑡 needed to ensure independent solutions. This term is initially
driven by 𝑡 i.e., the effect of in the response dominates. At a later time, the exponential decay
governs the behavior.

From the expression 𝜁= 𝑐/2𝑚𝜔2 for a mass-spring-damper system, for 𝜁 = 1 the viscous
damping coefficient assumes its critical value,𝑐D6 = 2𝑚𝜔2 = 2 𝑘𝑚 Equivalently, 𝜁 = 𝑐 𝑐D6

For the overdamped case, the response is aperiodic and exponentially decaying with time with the
solution given by Equation 5-4.

For example, for two damping coefficient values, 𝜁
= 1 and 𝜁 = 2 and assuming 𝜔2 = 1 rad/s,
𝑥 0 = 1 and 𝑥 0 = 1 the critical damped and overdamped responses, 𝑥D6 (𝑡) and 𝑥PQ (𝑡),
respectively, are given by

𝒙𝒄𝒓 𝒕 = 𝟏 + 𝟐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑 −𝒕

𝟏 𝟑 𝟏 𝟑
𝒙𝒐𝒅 𝒕 = 𝟏+ 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝟐 − 𝟐𝟐 − 𝟏 𝒕 + 𝟏 − 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝟐 + 𝟐𝟐 − 𝟏 𝒕
𝟐 𝟑 𝟐 𝟑

and are shown in Figure 5.2. Note that the critically damped case decays to zero faster.

Fig. 5.2 Displacement of critical response 𝑥D6 𝜁 = 1 and overdamped response 𝒙𝒐𝒅 𝜻 = 𝟐 The
critical displacement is initially larger than the overdamped displacement, but it decays more
rapidly to equilibrium.

The critically damped response always decays faster than the overdamped response for systems with
the same natural frequency 𝜔2 . The critically damped response has an exponential decay with the
characteristic time 𝜏D6 = 1 𝜔2 . The overdamped response is the summation of the two exponential
functions with the characteristic times,

1
𝜏PQ? =
𝜔2 𝜁 − 𝜁 A − 1
and
1
𝜏PQA =
𝜔2 𝜁 + 𝜁 A − 1

The part of the response that decays slower is dominant and the characteristic time for the
overdamped response is governed by the slower response 𝜏PQ? . The term 𝜁 − 𝜁 A − 1
characteristic time for the overdamped response is always greater than that of the critically damped
response, assuming both have the same natural frequency.

Underdamped Systems

In vibration studies our interest is in the underdamped case, 0 < 𝜁 < 1 since it results in oscillatory
behavior

For the underdamped case, Equation 5-4 can be written as

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝜻 − 𝒊 𝟏 − 𝜻𝟐 𝝎𝒏 𝒕 +𝑨𝟐 𝒆𝒙𝒑 − 𝜻 + 𝒊 𝟏 − 𝜻𝟐 𝝎𝒏 𝒕

So far we talked about undamped frequency and now ready to define new term i.e. damped
frequency.

𝝎𝒅 = 𝝎𝒏 𝟏 − 𝜻𝟐 5-5

Then

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 𝒆𝒙𝒑 −𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑 𝒊𝝎𝒅 𝒕 +𝑨𝟐 𝒆𝒙𝒑 −𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑 −𝒊𝝎𝒅 𝒕

Or
𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 𝒆𝒊𝝎𝒅 𝒕 +𝑨𝟐 𝒆W𝒊𝝎𝒅 𝒕 𝒆W𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕

Using Euler’s formula and simplifying terms yields a more useful form of the solution

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑨𝟏 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 + 𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝎𝒅 𝒕 +𝑨𝟐 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 − 𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝎𝒅 𝒕 𝒆W𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑩𝟏 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 + 𝑩𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 𝒆W𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕

𝑶𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎

where, 𝑩𝟏 = 𝑨𝟏 + 𝑨𝟐 and 𝑩𝟐 = 𝒊 𝑨𝟏 − 𝑨𝟐

Expressing oscillatory term in amplitude phase form (i.e. the sum of a sine and a cosine is equivalent
to a single cosine with a phase lag) yield

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑪 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 − 𝝓 𝒆W𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝑪 𝒆W𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 − 𝝓 5-6

Equation 5-6. represents oscillatory motion bounded by an exponentially decaying envelope. An

example is plotted in Fig. 5.3.

Fig. 5.3 Typical response of underdamped system. The solid line represent response. The dashed
lines represent the exponentially decaying boundary or envelope of the response.
The initial displacement is equal to the intercept of the curve with the ordinate and the initial
velocity is equal to the slope at that point. The factor 𝐶 𝑒 Wcde 7 is the maximum amplitude of the

oscillation in time. The factor 𝐶 𝑒 Wcde 7 gives the decay envelope that has a characteristic time of
1 𝜁𝜔2 . The frequency of vibration is 𝜔Q . The constant 𝐶 and phase angle 𝜙 are obtained by
satisfying the initial conditions.

From Equation 5-6 and its derivative at 𝑡 = 0,

𝒙 𝟎 = 𝑪 𝒄𝒐𝒔 −𝝓 5-7

𝒙 𝟎 = −𝑪 𝒄𝒐𝒔 −𝝎𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝓 + 𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝓 5-8

which can be manipulated to give

𝑪 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝓 = 𝒙 𝟎 5-9

𝒙(𝟎) 𝝎𝒏 5-10
𝑪 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝓 = + 𝒙(𝟎)𝜻
𝝎𝒅 𝝎𝒅

Squaring these two equations and adding them gives

𝒙 𝟎 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝟐 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝝎𝒅 𝟐
𝑪=
𝝎𝒅

An alternate expression for 𝐶 is obtained after solving Equation 5-9 for 𝐶

𝒙(𝟎)
𝑪=
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝓

The phase angle is obtained by dividing Equation 5-10 by Equation 5-9

𝒙 𝟎 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝜻𝝎𝒏
𝝓 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏W𝟏
𝒙(𝟎)𝝎𝒅

The relationship governing 𝑥(0), 𝑥 0 , 𝐶 and 𝜙 are depicted graphically in Fig. 5.4

Fig.5.4 Right triangle representing relationships among 𝒙(𝟎), 𝒙 𝟎 , 𝑪 and 𝝓 for a given and
𝜻𝝎𝒏 .

Substituting these equations for 𝐶 and 𝜙, which are explicit functions of the initial displacement
and velocity, into Equation 5-6, yields

𝒙(𝟎) W𝜻𝝎 𝒕 5-11

𝒙 𝒕 = 𝒆 𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 − 𝝓
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝓

Where,

𝒙(𝟎)
𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝓 =

𝑪
𝒙(𝟎)𝝎𝒅 5-12
=
𝒙 𝟎 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝟐 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝝎𝒅 𝟐

The phase angle 𝜙 is a measure of the delay of the response.

Substituting Equation 5-12 into Equation 5-11,

𝒙 𝟎 + 𝒙 𝟎 𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝟐 + 𝒙 𝟎 𝝎𝒅 𝟐 W𝜻𝝎 𝒕
𝒙 𝒕 = 𝒆 𝒏
𝝎𝒅 5-13
𝒙 𝟎 + 𝒙(𝟎)𝜻𝝎𝒏
× 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒅 𝒕 − 𝒕𝒂𝒏W𝟏
𝒙(𝟎)𝝎𝒅

Fig. 5.5 shows schematics of the free responses for various roots of the characteristic equation.
Those in the left-half plane show exponential decay. In the right-half plane there is unstable
exponential growth. When the characteristic roots with multiplicity of one are on the imaginary
axis, the free response neither grows nor decays. This corresponds to the undamped case that was
studied in the previous lecture. If the characteristic roots are on the imaginary axis and are repeated,
the free response becomes unstable growing linearly with time.

Fig.5.5 Sketches placed on the complex plane that show the free responses corresponding to
locations of the roots of the characteristic equation.
Underdamped systems have characteristic roots that have negative real parts and non-zero
imaginary parts. Overdamped systems have negative and real characteristic roots. Critically damped
systems have a negative real characteristic root with multiplicity of two, that is, two identical real
roots. Damped systems (with positive damping ratio), whether underdamped, overdamped, or
critically damped, have all of their characteristic roots in the left-half plane on the complex plane,
shown in Fig. 5.5.

Example Second-Order Damped Systems

For each of the following mass-spring-damper systems, identify whether it is overdamped,
underdamped, or critically damped. Find the natural frequency, the damping ratio, and the
characteristic roots. If the system is underdamped, find the damped natural frequency and the
characteristic time for the decay envelope:

a) 𝑥 + 4𝑥 + 5𝑥 = 0

b) 2𝑥 + 5𝑥 + 3𝑥 = 0

c) 4𝑥 + 4𝑥 + 𝑥 = 0

Example Underdamped Response for Specific Parameters


Given values 𝐶 = 1cm, 𝜙 =1rad, 𝜁 = 0.1 and 𝜔2 =1 rad/s, determine the initial conditions.

Example Underdamped Response with Given Initial Conditions

Find the response of a mass-spring-damper system with the equation of motion,

𝑥 + 2𝑥 + 5𝑥 = 0

with initial conditions, 𝑥(0) = −2 and 𝑥 0 = −3 . Write the response in terms of an

exponentially decaying cosine function with a phase shift.















Logarithmic Decrement

The logarithmic decrement method is a common experimental technique used to estimate the
damping ratio in underdamped systems. It represents the rate at which the amplitude of a free-
damped vibration decreases

Consider the measured displacement in a mechanical underdamped system. The first two peaks of
displacement 𝑥? = 𝑥 𝑡? and 𝑥A = 𝑥 𝑡A as shown in Fig. 5.6.

Fig.5.6 A time interval of decaying free vibration. Consecutive oscillation peaks occur at times 𝒕𝟏
and 𝒕𝟏 with the damped period 𝑻𝒅 = 𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏

The damped period of oscillation 𝑻𝒅 = 𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏 = 𝟐𝝅 𝝎𝒅 . At times 𝒕𝟏 and 𝒕𝟐 the displacements

from Equation 5-6. are

𝑥 𝑡? = 𝐶𝑒 Wcde 7m 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔Q 𝑡? − 𝜙

𝑥 𝑡A = 𝐶𝑒 Wcde 7p 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔Q 𝑡A − 𝜙

The ratio of the two displacements is given by

𝑥 𝑡A cos 𝜔Q 𝑡A − 𝜙 5-14
= 𝑒 Wcde 7p W7m

𝑥 𝑡? cos 𝜔Q 𝑡? − 𝜙

Since 𝑻𝒅 = 𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏 , the relationship of the cosine functions at the two times is

cos 𝜔Q 𝑡A − 𝜙 = cos 𝜔Q 𝑡? − 𝜙 + 𝜔Q 𝑇Q

= cos 𝜔Q 𝑡? − 𝜙 + 2𝜋

= cos 𝜔Q 𝑡? − 𝜙

and Equation 5-14 becomes

𝑥 𝑡A 5-15
= 𝑒 Wcde vw
𝑥 𝑡?

Defining the logarithmic decrement, 𝛿 as the natural logarithm of the amplitude ratio 𝑥 𝑡2 𝑥 𝑡1 ,
we have

 𝑥 𝑡? 2𝜋𝜁
𝛿 = 𝐼𝑛 = 𝜁𝜔2 𝑇Q =
𝑥 𝑡A 1 − 𝜁A

on solving for 𝜁

𝛿 5-16
𝜁=
4𝜋 A + 𝛿A

Generalizing Equation 5-15, for peaks cycles apart, we obtain

𝑥 𝑡? 𝑥 𝑡? 𝑥 𝑡A 𝑥 𝑡~
= ⋯
𝑥 𝑡2{? 𝑥 𝑡A 𝑥 𝑡| 𝑥 𝑡2{?

2
= 𝑒𝑥𝑝 𝜁𝜔2 𝑇Q 5-17

Taking the natural logarithm of each side and making use of the definition of logarithmic decrement
yields

1 𝑥 𝑡?
𝛿= 𝐼𝑛
𝑛 𝑥 𝑡2{?

where 𝑥? = 𝑥 𝑡? and 𝑥2{? = 𝑥 𝑡2{?

Example: System Specification

Consider the mass-spring-damper system subject to initial conditions 𝑥 0 = 1 𝑐𝑚 and 𝑥 0 =
0. The displacement time history is plotted in Fig. 5.7. Find the damping ratio and the natural
frequency of the system.

Fig.5.7 Response plot for classwork example

Solution: From two peaks, one at t = 0 and one at t = 2 s, the logarithmic decrement,

1 𝑥 𝑡?
𝛿= 𝐼𝑛
𝑛 𝑥 𝑡2{?

1 1
𝛿 = 𝐼𝑛 = 0.357

2 0.490
The damping ratio, given by Equation 5-16, is

𝛿
𝜁= = 0.0567

4𝜋 A + 𝛿 A
From the graph, the damped period 𝑇Q = 1 𝑠, giving 𝜔Q = 2𝜋 𝑇Q = 6.28 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠 and thus the
natural frequency

𝜔Q
𝜔2 = = 6.29 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
1 − 𝜁A

Phase Plane

The second-order differential equation for the damped system

𝑥 + 2𝜁𝜔2 𝑥 + 𝜔2A 𝑥 = 0

can be converted into two first-order differential equations,

𝑥 = 𝑦

𝑦 = −𝜔2A 𝑥 − 2𝜁𝜔2 𝑥 = −𝜔2A 𝑥 − 2𝜁𝜔2 𝑦

which can be used to find the phase plane. The equilibrium position is at the origin, where 𝑥, 𝑦 =
0, 0 The phase paths are given by

𝒅𝒚 −𝝎𝟐𝒏 𝒙 − 𝟐𝜻𝝎𝒏 𝒚
=
𝒅𝒙 𝒚

Example paths are shown in Fig. 5.8.

Fig. 5.8 Phase paths for damped system 𝒙 𝟎 = −𝟏𝟎 𝒄𝒎, 𝒗 𝟎 = 𝟒 𝒄𝒎 𝒔 , 𝝎𝒏 = 𝟏 𝒓𝒂𝒅/𝒔 and
three values of 𝜻
 Note: that for the critical damping case, 𝜁 = 1 the path goes to the equilibrium position
𝑥, 𝑦 = 0, 0 without any curving around 𝑂. This implies that there is no oscillation,
only a decay directly to the equilibrium position. For the underdamped cases 𝜁 = 0.1 and
0.5 the path encircles signifying decaying oscillations. The less damping the system
possesses, the more spiraling about 𝑂.

Free Vibration with Coulomb Damping

As you know, If a force acting on a mass is smaller than the static friction force, there will be no
motion. If a force acts that is greater than the static friction force, there will be motion. The static
friction force is equal to the product of the coefficient of static frictions 𝝁𝒔 and the normal force N,
where the normal force equals the weight of the mass mg. Once the static friction force is overcome,
the friction resistance force drops to 𝝁𝒌 𝑵; where 𝝁𝒌 is the coefficient kinetic friction and 𝝁𝒌 ≤ 𝝁𝒔 .
If at a later time the force acting on the mass becomes smaller than the friction force, the motion
stops.

For a body on a flat surface with Coulomb friction, as shown in Fig. 5.9, the normal force equals
the weight of the mass.

a b c

Fig. 5.9 Body subjected to Coulomb damping and Schematic (b) depicts a mass-spring system
with Coulomb damping. Its free-body diagram is shown in (c).

The equation of motion of a mass-spring system with Coulomb friction can be written as two
piecewise linear equations,

𝑚𝑥 + 𝑘𝑥 = −𝜇Ž 𝑁 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 > 0 5-18

𝑚𝑥 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝜇Ž 𝑁 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 < 0 5-19

Which can be rewritten more compactly as

𝑚𝑥 + 𝜇Ž 𝑚𝑔 𝑠𝑔𝑛 𝑥 + 𝑘𝑥 = 0

where 𝑠𝑔𝑛 𝑥 in the damping term is also known as the signum function

−1 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 < 0
𝑥
𝑠𝑔𝑛 𝑥 = = 0 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 = 0
𝑥
1 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 > 0

Dividing by m, the equation of motion can be written as

 𝑥 + 𝜇Ž 𝑔 𝑠𝑔𝑛 𝑥 + 𝜔2A 𝑥 = 0

From lecture 4, the general undamped free vibration response is given by

𝑥“ 𝑡 = 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔2 𝑡

where 𝑥(0) is the initial displacement and ̇𝑥 (0) is the initial velocity and coefficients 𝐴 and 𝐵
depend on the initial conditions. This part of the solution is the same for both Equations 5-18 and
5-19. The difference comes due to the different directions of the friction force.

In order to simplify the algebra, assume the initial velocity 𝑥 0 = 0: Essentially, this problem is
one where the mass is displaced some distance 𝑥 0 = 𝑥• in a positive direction. The mass is then
let go with a zero initial velocity, and is pulled to the left by the stretched spring assuming that
the spring force is sufficient to overcome the friction force.

For first part of the vibration, the velocity is in the negative direction (to the left) or 𝑥 < 0,
For this problem Equations 5-19 governs the forced response. Assume the steady-state response
𝑥– = 𝐶; where a constant C has been chosen since the forcing is a constant. Substituting the assumed
solution into the equation of motion yields

𝑚𝑥 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝜇Ž 𝑁 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 < 0

𝜇Ž 𝑁
𝑥 + 𝜔2A 𝑥 = = 𝜇Ž 𝑔

𝑚
𝑑A
𝑥 + 𝜔2A 𝑥– = 𝜇Ž 𝑔

𝑑𝑡 –
𝜇Ž 𝑔
𝑥– = A
𝜔2

the complete solution is then

𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥“ (𝑡) + 𝑥–

𝜇Ž 𝑔
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔2 𝑡 +
𝜔2A

Coefficients 𝐴 and 𝐵 can be found by satisfying the initial conditions. At 𝑡 = 0,

𝑥 0 = 𝑥•

𝜇Ž 𝑔
=𝐴+ A
𝜔2

or 𝐴 = 𝑥• − 𝜇Ž 𝑔/𝜔2A . In order to satisfy the zero initial velocity condition, B must equal zero.
Thus

𝜇Ž 𝑔 𝜇Ž 𝑔 5-20
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥• − A
cos 𝜔2 𝑡 + A
𝜔2 𝜔2

which represents harmonic oscillation superposed on the average response 𝜇Ž 𝑔/𝜔2A . Equation 5-
20. is valid for 0 ≪ 𝑡 ≪ 𝑡? where 𝑡? is the time at which the mass velocity is zero at the transition
between its left and right movements.
For second part of the vibration, the velocity is in the positive direction (to the right) or 𝑥 > 0,
the complete solution is then

𝜇Ž 𝑔
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔2 𝑡 + 𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔2 𝑡 −
𝜔2A

The constants 𝐴 and 𝐵 can be found using above equation with 𝑡? = 𝜋 𝜔2 , giving

𝜇Ž 𝑔 𝜇Ž 𝑔
− 𝑥• − 2 A
= −𝐴 − A
𝜔2 𝜔2

0 = −𝐵𝜔2

Thus,

𝜇Ž 𝑔 𝜇Ž 𝑔 5-21
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥• − 3 A
cos 𝜔2 𝑡 − A
𝜔2 𝜔2

for 𝑡?≪ 𝑡 ≪ 𝑡A where 𝑡A is the time the mass stops at the right. Here the amplitude of harmonic
response is smaller by 2𝜇𝑘 𝑔/𝜔2𝑛 , and the constant component has the opposite sign. Equation 5-
21 is valid until time 𝑡A .

If we combine the solutions for each half cycle, we obtain the response shown in Fig. 5.10.

Fig.5.10 Free response of a system with Coulomb damping. The decay of the peaks is linear