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Introduction to Linear Vibrations 177

the solution Equation 6.23 can be transformed to

y ( t ) = c 1 e α t ( cos β t + i sin β t ) + c 2 e α t ( cos β t – i sin β t )

αt
= e [ ( c 1 + c 2 ) cos β t + i ( c 1 – c 2 ) sin β t ] (6.25)
αt
= e [ a 1 cos β t + a 2 sin β t ]

where a1 = c1 + c2 and a2 = i(c1 – c2) are two new arbitrary constants.

• Roots are real and equal

This is possible if ξ = 1 in Equation 6.21 so that λ 1, 2 = λ = – ξ ω n . In this case,

in addition to the solution given by Equation 6.18, there is another one given by the
function te λ t , and thus, the general solution becomes

λt λt
y ( t ) = c 1 e + c 2 te (6.26)

6.2.2 PARTICULAR SOLUTION OF THE NONHOMOGENEOUS

EQUATION
The nonhomogeneous equation with nondimensional coefficients is

ẏ˙ + 2 ξω n ẏ + ω n y = p o sin ω t
2
(6.27)

where po = Po /m. The particular solution caused by the harmonic forcing function
is also harmonic and can be taken in either of the following two forms:

y p ( t ) = d 1 cos ω t + d 2 sin ω t = D sin ( ω t – φ ) (6.28)

where d1, d2, D, and φ are constants.

Taking the second form of the solution in Equation 6.28 and substituting it into
Equation 6.27 obtains

D [ ( ω n – ω ) sin ( ω t – φ ) + 2 ξω n ω cos ( ω t – φ ) ] = p o sin ω t

2 2
(6.29)

By using the trigonometric relations

cos ( ω t – φ ) = cos ω t cos φ + sin ω t sin φ (6.30)

and

sin ( ω t – φ ) = sin ω t cos φ – cos ω t sin φ (6.31)

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178 Fundamentals of Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines and Mechanisms

Equation 6.29 is transformed into the following:

D [ – ( ω n – ω ) sin φ + 2 ξω n ω cos φ ] cos ω t

2 2

(6.32)
+ D [ ( ω n – ω ) cos φ + 2 ξω n ω sin φ ] sin ω t = p o sin ω t
2 2

The above equation can be satisfied at any moment in time if the harmonic functions
on the left and on the right have equal amplitudes. This requirement leads to two
equations:

D [ – ( ω n – ω ) sin φ + 2 ξω n ω cos φ ] = 0
2 2
(6.33)

and

D [ ( ω n – ω ) cos φ + 2 ξω n ω sin φ ] = p o
2 2
(6.34)

To solve the above system for the unknowns D and φ, transform it into a simpler
system. This is done by first multiplying Equation 6.33 by –sin φ and Equation 6.34
by cos φ and adding them. The result is

D ( ω n – ω ) = p o cos φ
2 2
(6.35)

Now, multiply Equation 6.33 by cos φ and Equation 6.34 by sin φ and add them.
The result is

D2 ξω n ω = p o sin φ (6.36)

The new system, Equations 6.35 and 6.36, can be easily solved. Square both sides
in Equations 6.35 and 6.36 and add the equations. This gives the expression for the
unknown D

po
D = -----------------------------------------------------------
- (6.37)
2 2
( ω n – ω ) + ( 2 ξω n ω )
2 2

Now if Equation 6.36 is divided by Equation 6.35, the expression for the angle φ is
obtained:

2 ξω n ω 
φ = arc tan  -----------------
-2 (6.38)
ωn – ω 
2

Note that the constants d1, d2 in Equation 6.28 are equal to

d 1 = – D sin φ and d 2 = D cos φ (6.39)

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Introduction to Linear Vibrations 179

Using Equations 6.35 and 6.36 to express sin φ and cos φ through D gives the
following expressions for these coefficients:

2D ξω n ω
2
d 1 = – -----------------------
- (6.40)
po

and

D ( ωn – ω )
2 2 2
d 2 = -----------------------------
- (6.41)
po

where D is given by Equation 6.37.

It is of interest to consider the case when, instead of forcing function p0 sin ωt,
a function p0 cos ωt is used in Equation 6.27. It can be checked that the solutions
for the amplitude, Equation 6.37, and for the phase angle, Equation 6.38, remain
the same.

6.2.3 COMPLETE SOLUTION OF THE NONHOMOGENEOUS EQUATION

The complete solution is a superposition of the general solution of the homogeneous
equation (Equation 6.22) and the particular solution of the nonhomogeneous equation
(Equation 6.28). Thus,

λ1 t λ2 t
yc ( t ) = yg ( t ) + y p ( t ) = c1 e + c2 e + d 1 cos ω t + d 2 sin ω t (6.42)

where c1 and c2 are unknown constants, and d1 and d2 are given by Equations 6.40
and 6.41.
As was discussed in Section 6.1, the vibration of the mass on a spring is caused
by the initial displacement of this mass. By displacing and releasing the mass, one
introduces into the mass–spring system some initial potential energy. It was tacitly
assumed that this initial displacement was slow enough so that the corresponding
kinetic energy of motion could be ignored. However, if this is not the case, then the
total energy transferred to the system is a sum of both potential and kinetic energies.
The former is associated with the initial displacement of the mass, while the second
is associated with its initial velocity. Thus, in general, the motion of a body from
the undisturbed position starts with some initial displacement and with some initial
velocity. These are called initial conditions. For a single body in a uniaxial motion,
there are two initial conditions, which are stated as follows

dy c t
y c ( 0 ) = Y 0 and ---------
- = V0 (6.43)
dt t=0

These two initial conditions define the constants c1 and c2 in Equation 6.42. Satisfying
the initial displacement condition gives
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180 Fundamentals of Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines and Mechanisms

c1 + c2 + d 1 = Y 0 (6.44)

Then taking the derivative of yc(t) and then satisfying the initial velocity requirement
gives

c1 λ1 + c2 λ2 + d 2 ω = V 0 (6.45)

Solving Equations 6.44 and 6.45 for the unknowns c1 and c2 gives

( Y 0 – d 1 ) λ2 – V 0 + d 2 ω
c 1 = -------------------------------------------------------
- (6.46)
λ2 – λ1

and

( Y 0 – d 1 ) λ1 – V 0 + d 2 ω
c 2 = -------------------------------------------------------
- (6.47)
λ1 – λ2

where λ1 and λ2 are given by Equation 6.21.

The type of roots (real or complex) in Equation 6.21 leads to different forms of
complete solution. Each case will be looked into separately.

• Roots are real and distinct ( ξ > 1 )

In this case the complete solution is

– λ1 t – λ2 t
yc ( t ) = c1 e + c2 e + d 1 cos ω t + d 2 sin ω t (6.48)

One can see that the first two terms in Equation 6.48, associated with the initial
disturbance, tend to zero exponentially and so after some time, practically, only the
periodic terms caused by the external load will remain. A system in which the
nondimensional damping coefficient ξ > 1 is said to be overdamped.

• Roots are complex ( ξ < 1 )

In this case the complete solution is (see Equation 6.25 for the general part of
the solution)

– ξω n t
yc ( t ) = e ( a 1 cos β t + a 2 sin β t ) + d 1 cos ω t + d 2 sin ω t (6.49)

One can see that in this case the amplitude of the initial disturbance is also decreasing
exponentially while oscillating. A system in which the nondimensional damping
coefficient ξ < 1 is said to be underdamped. However, in this case, like in the previous
one, the effect of initial disturbance disappears after some time and only the periodic
oscillation remains.
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Introduction to Linear Vibrations 181

• Roots are real and equal (ξ = 1)

In this case the complete solution is

– ξω n t
yc ( t ) = e ( c 1 + c 2 t ) + d 1 cos ω t + d 2 sin ω t (6.50)

One can see that the initial disturbance tends to zero and after some time only the
oscillation caused by the periodic external force remain. This is the boundary case
between the oscillating and nonoscillating initial disturbance, and the corresponding
damping is called critical damping.
The next section considers various applications of the above solution to an SDOF
system.

6.3 FREE VIBRATIONS OF AN SDOF SYSTEM WITH

NO DAMPING ( ξ = 0, p o = 0 )
The characteristic equation, Equation 6.20, in this case has imaginary roots (see
Equation 6.21) λ 1, 2 = ± i ( ω n ) . This is a particular case of the complete solution
obtained in Section 6.2.3 and the corresponding solution can be obtained from
Equation 6.49 by taking, ξ = 0, d 1 = 0, d 2 = 0, and β = ω n . As a result, one
obtains

y g ( t ) = a 1 cos ω n t + a 2 sin ω n t (6.51)

where a1 and a2 are constants defined by the initial conditions:

yg ( 0 ) = a1 = Y 0 (6.52)

and

ẏ g ( 0 ) = a 2 ω n = V 0 (6.53)

Thus, the final form of the solution for an SDOF system without damping is

V
y g ( t ) = Y 0 cos ω n t + ------0 sin ω n t (6.54)
ωn

This equation once more shows that any disturbance causes the system to
oscillate with the circular frequency ωn, which is defined by the system properties.
This frequency is called the natural frequency of the system. One can also see that
the effects of initial displacement and initial velocity are uncoupled, which is another
manifestation of the principle of superposition in linear systems. In other words,
one can solve first for initial displacement, second for initial velocity, and then
combine the results.
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182 Fundamentals of Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines and Mechanisms

yg(t)
yst
7.5

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6
Time
-2.5

-5

-7.5

FIGURE 6.4 Normalized amplitude of free vibrations of an SDOF system without damping
(yst is the static displacement). Dashed line = initial velocity; solid thin line = initial displace-
ment; solid thick line = both.

In Figure 6.4 oscillations of an SDOF system are shown for the case of initial
displacement only, initial velocity only, and for both, displacement and velocity,
conditions. The time between two consecutive peaks is the period of oscillation.
One can see that the period is the same for any type of initial disturbance. Recall
that this period is equal to T = 2π/ωn and ωn does not depend on the type of
disturbance.

6.4 FORCED VIBRATIONS OF AN SDOF SYSTEM WITH

NO DAMPING ( ξ = 0 )
It is assumed that forced vibrations start at time zero from the undisturbed state of
the system. Thus, the initial conditions are Y0 = 0 and V0 = 0 at t = 0. The forcing
function is p0 sin(ωt). The complete solution is given by Equation 6.49 in which the
first two terms on the right describing the vibrations caused by the initial conditions
contain two unknown (a1 and a2) constants, whereas the constants in the last two
terms (d1 and d2) are given by Equations 6.40 and 6.41 and Equation 6.37. Taking
into account that, for the case of ξ = 0 , β = ω n and d1 = 0, the complete solution is

y c ( t ) = a 1 cos ω n t + a 2 sin ω n t + d 2 sin ω t (6.55)

where the constants a1 and a2 are found by satisfying the initial conditions

yc ( 0 ) = a1 = 0 (6.56)

and

dy c ( t ) = a2 ωn + d 2 ω = 0 (6.57)
--------------
dt t=0