Examination: May 2014

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IB Diploma Math HL Exploration
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Modelling Vibrations of an Airplane Wing Using Differential Equation
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Introduction
Resonance is an everyday-life phenomenon. It is “the state in which the frequency of an externally applied
periodic force equals the natural frequency of the system; this results in oscillations with large amplitude”
(Tsokos, 2010). Therefore resonance can actually be thought of as a special case of forced oscillations. I became
interested in this phenomenon when I first encountered it in my physics course. To me, it is really fascinating
that a simple phenomenon such as resonance, which can be described in only a few words, has such a wide range
of applications, including its use in microwave to cook my everyday food.

Resonance is useful but can also be very disastrous. Most cases of mechanical resonance are dangerous and
should be avoided. In 1940, people were all shocked with the destructive powers of resonance when it led to the

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entire collapse of Tacoma Bridge. Since the collapse, many mathematicians and engineers have attempted to
accurately set up a mathematical model for this phenomenon to prevent it in the future.

Similar to a bridge, an airplane wing can also suffer from resonance if it is under the influence of a periodic force
that drives the wing at its resonant frequency, leading to the complete destruction of the wing, thus threatening
the lives of people onboard. Hence, it is a very important task to carefully study resonance of an airplane using
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mathematical tools to prevent the airplane from fluttering during its flight.

Rationale
The main purpose of this exploration is to study the mathematics behind the resonance phenomenon on a wing of
an airplane, which can be modelled by setting up an inhomogeneous 2nd order linear differential equation (DE).
To make it more realistic, damping will also be included, making the model a description of practical resonance.
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The goal now is to solve the DE to work out the wing‟s resonant frequency, at which the largest amplitude of
vibrations can occur. I will then attempt to predict the response of the wing at this resonant frequency.

As this investigation involves inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE (see Equation 1), it is also important to explore
different methods of solving the DE, namely the method of using the exponential-response formula (ERF).
Justifications of the solving method and the underlying mathematical theorems will also be given. To limit the
scale of the exploration, I will assume that the readers have a full understanding of how to solve the
homogeneous 2nd order linear DE; the readers can also refer to the notes given by Zachary S. Tseng (2008) if
necessary, which explains in detail about the homogeneous DE.

The general form of inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE with constant coefficients is:
𝑥 (𝑡) + 𝑏𝑥 (𝑡) + 𝑐𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑓(𝑡) (1)

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Modelling

Figure 1: (a) A simplified airplane wing (Retrieved from Mike Huber, 2010); (b) A corresponding model of a spring-mass-

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damper system showing the forces acting on the mass when it is below the equilibrium position

To simplify the complicated model of an airplane wing, I decided to „translate‟ this into a simple model of a
mass-spring-damper system (see Figure 1b), which is possible only if I have these following assumptions:
- The wing vibrates up and down only in the vertical direction
- The wing-body joint (see Figure 1a) acts the same way as a damped oscillating spring does. The wing thus
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has the spring constant 𝑘 and the damping coefficient 𝑏 just like in the spring-mass-damper system
- The driving force is produced by the propeller that circulates according to the sinusoidal function of the form
𝐹0 cos(𝜔𝑡), in which 𝜔 is called the driving angular frequency
- All of the wing‟s mass 𝑚 is concentrated at the centre the wing which means that it is only necessary to
model the motion of the middle part of the wing
- The damping force is proportional to the wing‟s velocity through the damping coefficient 𝑏, i.e. 𝐹𝑑𝑎 𝑚𝑝 = 𝑏𝑣
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By using the mass-spring-damper analogy and the basic laws of mechanics (Newton‟s law of motions), the net
force on the wing is 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎 = −𝑘𝑥 − 𝑏𝑣 + 𝐹0 cos(𝜔𝑡), in which the plus and minus sign account for the
directions of the forces as described in Figure 1b. Notice that force of gravity (𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑚𝑔) on the mass is not
included in the equation above because it stays constant throughout the oscillations; besides, the force of gravity
is counter-balanced by the force of the spring (i.e. the wing-body joint) when the mass (i.e. the wing) is at its
𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑏 𝑘
equilibrium position. Now by substituting 𝑎 = = 𝑥, 𝑣 = = 𝑥, = 2𝑝, and = 𝜔02 for simplicity of the
𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 𝑚 𝑚

formula which will be derived later on, we can re-arrange the equation above to transform it into the general
form of a 2nd order linear DE:

𝑏 𝑘 𝐹
𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝐹0 cos(𝜔𝑡) ⇒ 𝑥 + 𝑚 𝑥 + 𝑚 𝑥 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡)
𝐹
⇒ 𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡) (2)

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Equation (2) is the theoretical model describing the motion of an airplane‟s wing. However, to get a better
picture of the resonance phenomenon, this theoretical DE will later be applied to a specific wing of a
hypothetical Airplane 𝑊. Hence, the parameters 𝑏, 𝑚, 𝑘, and 𝐹0 in the DE can be assigned with numerical
values, which represent the specific properties of Airplane 𝑊‟s wing. In this exploration, I will use the numerical
values suggested by Mike Huber (2010) for Airplane 𝑊‟s wing:

𝑘 = 8100 𝑁 𝑚−1 , 𝑚 = 900 𝑘𝑔, 𝑏 = 1800 𝑘𝑔 𝑠 −1 , and 𝐹0 = 1800 𝑁

𝑏 1800 𝑘 8100 𝐹 1800

⇒ 2𝑝 = 𝑚 = 900
= 2 𝑠 −1 ; 𝜔02 = 𝑚 = 900
= 9 𝑠 −2 ; 𝑚0 = 900
= 2 𝑚 𝑠 −2

Substituting these numerical values into Equation (2) gives the DE describing motion of Airplane 𝑊‟s wing as:
𝑥 + 2𝑥 + 9𝑥 = 2 cos(𝜔𝑡) (3)

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Linear Operator
1. The Concept of Linear Operator

Linear operators are mathematical operators which obey the rules of linearity. Linear operator is often denoted as
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𝐿; for example 𝐿 𝑢 𝑥 indicates that the linear operator 𝐿 is applied to the function 𝑢 𝑥 . Now let 𝑢 and 𝑣 be
functions of 𝑥, then according to Weisstein (n.d.), the two important rules of linear operators are:

- 𝐿 𝑢 +𝐿 𝑣 =𝐿 𝑢+𝑣
- 𝐿 𝑐𝑢 = 𝑐𝐿(𝑢) (where 𝑐 is any numerical constant)

Let 𝐷 stands for the operation of finding the 1st derivative of a function with respect to its independent variable
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(likewise, 𝐷 2 denotes the operation of finding the 2nd derivative), then it is clear that 𝐷 𝑢 + 𝑣 = 𝐷𝑢 + 𝐷𝑣 and
𝐷 𝑐𝑢 = 𝑐𝐷𝑢. Therefore, the technique of differentiation is clearly a linear operator because it satisfies the two
rules mentioned above. Now let us go back to Equation (2):
𝐹
𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 𝑚0 cos 𝜔𝑡
𝐹0
⇒ 𝐷 2 + 2𝑝𝐷 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 𝐿 𝑥 = 𝑚
cos(𝜔𝑡) (4)

Equation (4) strongly suggests that 𝐿 = 𝐷 2 + 2𝑝𝐷 + 𝜔02 is the linear operator for Equation (2).

2. Proving Different Mathematical Theorems using Linear Operator Concept

Associating differentiation with linear operator is extremely helpful because the application of linear operator
offers several proofs that can justify different mathematical theorems that will be used to solve Equation (1). I
will now prove these following theorems, and explain how they can help solving the DE:

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- Theorem 1: General solution 𝑋 to Equation (1) is the sum of a particular solution 𝑋𝑝 (where 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 = 𝑓(𝑡))
and the complementary solution 𝑋𝑐 (where 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑐1 𝑥1 + 𝑐2 𝑥2 is the solution to the corresponding
homogeneous equation 𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐𝑥 = 0); mathematically 𝑋 = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑐1 𝑥1 + 𝑐2 𝑥2
- Theorem 2: There is one and only one particular solution 𝑋𝑝 for an inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE

Proof of Theorem 1:
We need to prove that 𝐿 𝑋 = 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑓(𝑡). Thus, by the rules of linear operator, we have:
𝐿 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 = 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑐1 𝑥1 + 𝑐2 𝑥2 = 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑐1 𝐿 𝑥1 + 𝑐2 𝐿 𝑥2 = 𝑓 𝑡 + 0 + 0 = 𝑓(𝑡) Q.E.D

Proof of Theorem 2 (a proof by contradiction):

- Suppose that there is another particular solution 𝑌𝑝 such that 𝑌𝑝 ≠ 𝑋𝑝 and 𝑌𝑝 ≠ 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐

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- As 𝐿 𝑌𝑃 = 𝑓(𝑡) and 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 = 𝑓 𝑡 , thus 𝐿 𝑌𝑝 − 𝐿 𝑋𝑝 = 𝐿 𝑌𝑝 − 𝑋𝑝 = 𝑓 𝑡 − 𝑓 𝑡 = 0; but this
indicates that 𝑌𝑝 − 𝑋𝑝 is the general solution of the corresponding homogeneous DE; hence 𝑌𝑝 − 𝑋𝑝 = 𝑋𝑐 ,
which means 𝑌𝑝 = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐
- However, this contradicts with the original assumption that 𝑌𝑝 ≠ 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 . Therefore, there is one and only
one particular solution for Equation (1)
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Q.E.D

As theorem 1 shows, to find the general solution for the inhomogeneous 2nd order DE, it is necessary to solve for
both the particular solution, and the complimentary solution of the corresponding homogeneous equation. This
will be applied to solve for Equation (2) later on in the investigation. Also, it is good enough to only find one
particular solution 𝑋𝑝 , because there is really one and only one of such a solution, as shown by Theorem 3.
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Solving for the Particular Solution:

1. Exponential Response Formula (ERF):

The exponential response formula (ERF) can be used to find the particular solution to an inhomogeneous 2nd
order linear DE under certain conditions. The reasons to why I am going to use ERF to solve the Equation (2)
will be discussed and explained later on in the exploration; but for this section, only the descriptions of the
method will be given.

ERF gives the particular solution for an inhomogeneous 2nd-order linear DE of the form 𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐𝑥 = 𝐶𝑒 𝛼𝑡 as:
𝐶𝑒 𝛼𝑡
𝑥𝑝 = (5)
𝑝 𝛼

This method is built upon a simple substitution rule and the properties of linear operator. Let 𝑝 𝐷 be the
notation for the linear operator of the DE above, i.e. 𝐿 𝑥𝑝 = 𝑝 𝐷 𝑥𝑝 = 𝐷 2 + 𝑏𝐷 + 𝑐 𝑥𝑝 = 𝐶𝑒 𝛼𝑡 ; then the
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substitution rule tells us that 𝑝 𝛼 is the linear operator that has the same coefficients as 𝑝(𝐷), but with 𝛼 being
substituted for 𝐷, i.e. 𝑝 𝛼 = 𝛼 2 + 𝑏𝛼 + 𝑐. This implies that we can treat the linear operator 𝑝(𝐷) as a
polynomial with independent variable 𝐷, in which we can basically substitute in any values. The proofs of this
substitution rule and of the ERF are given by Mattuck (2010) in his lecture at MIT. More importantly, the proof
also accounts for the case when 𝑝 𝛼 = 0

ERF works very well with any inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE where the right-hand side of the DE is of the
form 𝐶𝑒 𝛼𝑡 , even when 𝛼 ∈ ℂ. It is a great method as it requires very little algebra and can help us avoid lengthy
calculation. There is however a limitation, that is that ERF does not apply when the right-hand side of the
equation is not an exponential function with base 𝑒.

𝑭𝟎
2. Solving Equation (2) 𝒙 + 𝟐𝒑𝒙 + 𝝎𝟐𝟎 𝒙 =

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𝒎
𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕):

𝐹
The particular solution 𝑥𝑝 of this DE must satisfy 𝐿 𝑥𝑝 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡). In order to solve for 𝑥𝑝 , ERF will be

used. However, the ERF only works when the right-hand side of the DE is an exponential function. Therefore, it
𝐹0
is necessary to transform cos(𝜔𝑡) into exponential form; this can be done by first complexifying both sides of
𝑚
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the DE (i.e. changing both sides of the differential equation into complex functions). The DE now becomes
𝐹
𝐷 2 + 2𝑝𝐷 + 𝜔02 𝑧𝑝 = 𝑝(𝐷)𝑧𝑝 = 𝑚0 cis(𝜔𝑡) in which the particular solution 𝑥𝑝 must the real part of the

complex particular solution 𝑧𝑝 . This is true because:

𝐹 𝐹0
𝐿 𝑧𝑝 = 𝐿 𝑅𝑒 𝑧𝑝 + 𝐼𝑚 𝑧𝑝 𝑖 = 𝐿 𝑅𝑒 𝑧𝑝 + 𝑖𝐿 𝐼𝑚 𝑧𝑝 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡) + 𝑖 sin(𝜔𝑡)
𝑚

𝐹 𝐹
⇒ 𝐿 𝑅𝑒 𝑧𝑝 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡) and 𝐿 𝐼𝑚 𝑧𝑝 = 𝑚0 sin(𝜔𝑡)
By

⇒ 𝑥𝑝 = 𝑅𝑒 𝑧𝑝

Likewise if the function on the right-hand side was to be a sine function, then the particular solution would have
been 𝑥𝑝 = 𝐼𝑚 𝑧𝑝 instead. Since Euler‟s formula shows that cis 𝜔𝑡 = 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 , we can now transform the right-
hand side of the DE into an exponential function, i.e.

𝐹0 𝑖𝜔𝑡
𝑝(𝐷)𝑧𝑝 = 𝑒 (6)
𝑚
Using ERF:

𝐶𝑒 𝛼𝑡 𝐹0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 𝐹0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 𝐹0 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝑖 sin 𝜔𝑡

𝑧𝑝 = = = ∙ 2 + 2𝑝 𝑖𝜔 + 𝜔 2
= ∙ (7)
𝑝 𝛼 𝑚 ∙ 𝑝 𝑖𝜔 𝑚 𝑖𝜔 0 𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 + 2𝑝𝜔𝑖

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After closer examination of Equation (7), I realize that 𝑧𝑝 would be undefined if 𝑝 𝑖𝜔 = 0. Fortunately this
would never happen, because if 𝑝 𝑖𝜔 = 0, then both its real part (𝜔02 − 𝜔2 ) and imaginary part (2𝑝𝜔) need to
be zero. However, if 2𝑝𝜔 = 0 ⇒ 𝜔 = 0 ⇒ 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 = 𝜔02 ≠ 0, which leads to the fact that 𝑝(𝑖𝜔) ≠ 0

Now by rationalization of the denominator, we have:

𝐹0 cos(𝜔𝑡) + 𝑖 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 − 2𝑝𝜔𝑖 𝐹0 cos(𝜔𝑡) + 𝑖 sin(𝜔𝑡) 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 − 2𝑝𝜔𝑖
𝑧𝑝 = ∙ ∙ = ∙
𝑚 (𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 ) + 2𝑝𝜔𝑖 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 − 2𝑝𝜔𝑖 𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2

𝐹0
⇒ 𝑥𝑝 = 𝑅𝑒 𝑧𝑝 = ∙ 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 cos(𝜔𝑡) + 2𝑝𝜔 sin 𝜔𝑡 (8)
𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2

Compound-angle identity for trigonometric functions shows that:

𝑐 cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝜑) = 𝑐 cos 𝜑 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝑐 sin 𝜑 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 𝑐1 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝑐2 sin 𝜔𝑡

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for any constant 𝑐. Now by substituting 𝑐1 = 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 and 𝑐2 = 2𝑝𝜔, then 𝑥𝑝 can be expressed as
𝐹0
𝑥𝑝 = 𝑐 cos 𝜔𝑡 − 𝜑 (9)
𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2

As 𝑐1 = 𝑐 cos 𝜑 = 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 sin 𝜑 2𝑝𝜔

} = tan 𝜑 = 𝜔 2 −𝜔 2
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cos 𝜑
𝑐2 = 𝑐 sin 𝜑 = 2𝑝𝜔 0

Thus 𝜑, which represents the phase lag, equals:

2𝑝𝜔
𝜑 = arctan (10)
𝜔02 − 𝜔2
By

Figure 2: Interpretation of Equation (10) using visual triangle trigonometry

2𝑝𝜔 2𝑝𝜔
From Figure 2, it is clear that sin 𝜑 = ⇒ 𝑐 = sin 𝜑 = 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2 which gives
2
𝜔 02 −𝜔 2 +4𝑝 2 𝜔 2

the particular solution for the Equation (2) to be:

𝐹0 2𝑝𝜔
𝑥𝑝 = cos 𝜔𝑡 − arctan (11)
𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2 𝜔02 − 𝜔2

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Resonant Frequency:
As resonant frequency is defined as the driving frequency of the sinusoidal force which gives the largest
amplitude in the oscillation, optimization technique can be used to determine the resonant frequency of a wing of
an airplane by using the particular solution obtained above. Therefore from Equation (13), we have amplitude:
𝐹0
𝐴=
𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔 2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2

𝑑𝐴 −𝐹0
⇒ = 3 2𝜔3 − 2𝜔02 𝜔 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 (12)
𝑑𝜔 𝑚 𝜔02 − 𝜔2 2 + 4𝑝2 𝜔 2

Resonant frequency 𝜔𝑟 , that gives the maximum amplitude, must lie on a stationary point on the graph of 𝐴(𝜔),

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𝑑𝐴
i.e.
𝑑𝜔
= 0 at the resonant frequency 𝜔𝑟
𝑑𝐴
⇒ = 0 = 2 𝜔𝑟3 − 2𝜔02 𝜔𝑟 + 4𝑝2 𝜔𝑟 = 𝜔𝑟 𝜔𝑟2 − 𝜔02 + 2𝑝2 (13)
𝑑𝜔

But it is obvious that 𝜔𝑟 > 0, therefore:

𝜔𝑟 = 𝜔02 − 2𝑝2 (14)

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𝑏2
Equation (14) shows that if the damping coefficient 𝑏 is really large such that 2𝑚 2 = 2𝑝2 > 𝜔02 , then resonance

would not occur as 𝜔𝑟 would be an imaginary number in that case.

Solving for the Complimentary Solution:

By

As mentioned earlier, the complimentary solution 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑐1 𝑥1 + 𝑐2 𝑥2 of the Equation (2) is the solution to the
corresponding homogeneous equation 𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 0. As I have assumed that the readers know about
homogeneous equations, derivation of 𝑋𝑐 will not be explained in detail here. The characteristic equation for the
homogeneous DE is: 𝑟 2 + 2𝑝𝑟 + 𝜔02 = 0, which gives:

𝑟 = −𝑝 ± 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 (15)

There are now 3 cases to consider:

- Over-damping: For 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 > 0, then 2 roots 𝑟1 and 𝑟2 will be both real, giving 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑐1 𝑒 𝑟1 𝑡 + 𝑐2 𝑒 𝑟2 𝑡
- Critical damping: For 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 = 0, then 𝑟1 = 𝑟2 ∈ ℝ, giving 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑐1 + 𝑐2 𝑡 𝑒 𝑟1 𝑡
- Under-damping: For 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 < 0, then 𝑟 ∈ ℂ, giving 𝑋𝑐 = 𝑒 −𝑝 𝑐1 cos 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 𝑡 + 𝑐2 sin 𝑝2 − 𝜔02 𝑡

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Notice that if 𝑟1 < 0 and 𝑟2 < 0 for over-damping case, or if 𝑟1 < 0 for critical damping case, or if −𝑝 < 0 in
under-damping case, then the amplitude of 𝑋𝑐 will decrease with time due to the property of the decreasing
exponential functions, mathematically: lim𝑡→∞ 𝑋𝑐 (𝑡) = 0

The Airplane W’s Wing at Resonance:

Let us now go back to Equation (3) 𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 2𝑥 + 9𝑥 = 2 cos(𝜔𝑡) which describes the motion of
the wing of the hypothetical Airplane 𝑊. The resonant frequency of the wing can now be found by Equation

(14), which is calculated to be 𝜔𝑟 = 𝜔02 − 2𝑝2 = 9 − 2 = 7 𝑠 −1 (to 3 𝑠. 𝑓)

𝐹0 2
This can also be found by graphing the function 𝐴 𝜔 = = to find the
2 9−𝜔 2 2 +4𝜔 2
𝑚 𝜔 02 −𝜔 2 +4𝑝 2 𝜔 2

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point at which the maximum occurs, as done by using GDC as below:
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Figure 3

Now imagine that the wing‟s oscillations are driven by sinusoidal force generated by the propeller at the resonant
frequency, i.e. 𝜔 = 𝜔𝑟 = 7 𝑠−1 , then from Equation (11), the particular solution for Equation (3) must be:
1
𝑋𝑝 = cos 7𝑡 − arctan 7 (16)
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By

To solve for the corresponding homogenous DE 𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 9𝑥 = 0, the characteristic equation is set up to be
𝑟 2 + 2𝑟 + 9 = 0, which gives 𝑟 = −1 ± 𝑖 8. Thus:

𝑋𝑐 = 𝑒 −𝑡 𝑐1 cos 8𝑡 + 𝑐2 sin 8𝑡 (17)

Therefore, the general solution 𝑋(𝑡) for the Equation (3) is:

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𝑋(𝑡) = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 = cos 7𝑡 − arctan 7 + 𝑒 −𝑡 𝑐1 cos 8𝑡 + 𝑐2 sin 8𝑡 (18)
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The constants 𝑐1 and 𝑐2 can be found using initial conditions. Let us suppose that the wing initially starts from
rest at its equilibrium position, i.e. 𝑋 0 = 0 and 𝑋 0 = 0, then by solving simultaneous equations 𝑋 0 = 0,
1 1
and 𝑋 0 = 0, we find that 𝑐1 = − 8 and 𝑐2 = − 8
. Thus, the response of the Airplane 𝑊‟s wing under this

initial condition is:

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 1 1 1
𝑋 𝑡 = cos 7𝑡 − arctan 7 − 𝑒 −𝑡 cos 8𝑡 + sin 8𝑡 (19)
8 8 8

Since the characteristic root 𝑟 in this case is a complex number, the complimentary solution (Equation 17) really
belongs to the case of under-damping where −𝑝 = −1 < 0. As a result, the amplitude of 𝑋𝑐 will decrease with
time, approaching closer to zero; and as 𝑋 𝑡 = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 , thus 𝑋(𝑡) will look more and more like 𝑋𝑝 as time
goes on. This feature is illustrated in the 3 graphs represented below. The graph of 𝑋(𝑡) (Figure 4) looks
essentially the same as the graph of 𝑋𝑝 (𝑡) (Figure 5) from when the time 𝑡 is 𝑡 ≈ 3𝑠; this is clearly illustrated by
Figure 6. Hence, we can say that the graph of 𝑋(𝑡) is approaching a steady state of motion, and that the
1
particular solution 𝑋𝑝 = 8
cos 7𝑡 − arctan 7 is the steady solution to the Differential Equation (3).

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Figure 4: The graph of the general solution 𝑋 described by Equation 19
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Figure 5: The graph of the particular solution 𝑋𝑝 described by Equation 1

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Figure 6: The graph of 𝑋(𝑡) and 𝑋𝑝 (𝑡) when they are laying on top of each other

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Conclusion:
As stated in the rationale, the purpose of this whole exploration is to study the mathematics behind the practical
resonance phenomenon of an airplane‟s wing; and in the end, I have successfully translated the complicated
model of the wing into a simpler model of a mass-spring-damper system based on several assumptions. The DE
𝐹
that was set up in order to fully describe the motion of the wing is 𝑥 + 2𝑝𝑥 + 𝜔02 𝑥 = 𝑚0 cos(𝜔𝑡) (see Equation
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2), in which 𝑝 & 𝜔0 are the properties of the wing. The exploration also successfully derived a formula for the
practical resonant frequency, which is as followed: 𝜔𝑟 = 𝜔02 − 2𝑝2 . In addition, the general formula for the
particular solution is also given by Equation (11).

The exploration discussed the behavior of the general solution and the importance of the complimentary solution.
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If the complimentary solution happens to be a decreasing exponential function, then the general solution will
reach a steady state, and will look more and more like the particular solution as time goes on.

As equally important, the exploration shows that the method of solving inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE
should really be divided into three steps. The first one is to solve for the particular solution 𝑋𝑝 either by the
methods of undetermined coefficients or by using the exponential-response formula (ERF). The second step is to
figure out the complimentary solution 𝑋𝑐 which is essentially the general solution to the corresponding
homogeneous DE. The final step is now to match 𝑋(𝑡) = 𝑋𝑝 + 𝑋𝑐 with the initial conditions to give a full
description of the general solution 𝑋(𝑡). All these steps can be justified by the use of linear operator which is
basically what differentiation really is.

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Evaluation:
Modelling the vertical oscillating motion of an airplane wing using inhomogeneous 2nd order linear DE has many
limitations. The list of assumptions given in the modelling section clearly reduces the credibility and reliability
of the model when it is applied to reality. However, the model is not oversimplified. This is because the model
also accounts for the effect of damping, which thus describes the practical resonance rather than the pure
unrealistic case of resonance.

The exploration is generally successful as I have been able to give a full description of the response of an
airplane‟s wing when being driven at its resonant frequency. The mathematical theoretical analysis also gives
simple formulae for the particular solution and the resonant frequency, so that one can quickly apply the
formulae if the parameters describing the properties of the airplane‟s wing are changed. The model can provide a

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great help to engineers so that they know which frequency the propeller is not allowed to circulate, or to apply
strong damping force when the propeller reaches the resonant frequency, in order to prevent the destruction of
the airplane‟s wing.

This exploration has provided me a wonderful opportunity to understand how mathematics alone can actually be
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used to describe a real physical phenomenon. At the same time, it has given me an insight on how different fields
of mathematics are connected to each other; the exploration does not only focus on the application of calculus,
but also has extended my general understanding of complex numbers and trigonometric functions. I now realized
how the brilliant connection between complex numbers and trigonometric functions through the Euler‟s formula
can actually help solving the DE. This project has certainly increased my love for calculus, and engineering in
general.
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Reference

Mattuck A. (2010). Lecture 13: Finding Particular Solutions to Inhomogeneous ODEs. MIT Open Course 18.03.
Lecture conducted from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mike Huber. (2010). The Phenomena of Mechanical Resonance, or “Think About Differential Equations the
Next Time You Fly”. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.codee.org/library/projects/teaching-
differential-equations-with-modeling-and-visualization/MechanicalResonance.pdf

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Tsokos, K. (2010). Physics for the IB Diploma (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Zachary S. Tseng. (2008). Second Order Linear Differential Equations [PDF document]. Retrieved February 19,
2014, from http://www.math.psu.edu/tseng/class/Math251/Notes-2nd%20order%20ODE%20pt1.pdf

Weisstein, Eric W. (n.d.). Linear Operator. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from MathWorld – A Wolfram Web
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Resource http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LinearOperator.html
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