Solving the Harmonic Oscillator

Dr.S.S.Saravanakuma
r Associate Professor
Dept. of.Mechanical
Engg
 Contents

1. Simple illustrative example: Spring-mass system

2. Free Vibrations: Undamped
3. Free Vibrations: Damped
4. Forced Vibrations: Beats and Resonance
5. Will this work for the beam?
6. Writing as a First Order System
7. Summary & References
 1. Spring-mass system

What is a spring-mass system and why it is important?

(Hooke’s Law)
 1. Spring-mass system

Dynamic problem: What is motion of the mass when

acted by an external force or is initially displaced?
 1. Spring-mass system
Forces acting on the mass

Net force acting on the mass

 1. Spring-mass system
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
the acceleration of an object due to an applied force is in
the direction of the force and given by:

For our spring-mass system

 2. Undamped Free Vibrations

no damping no external force

(particular solutions)

(general solution)
A and B are arbitary constants determined from initial
conditions
2. Undamped Free Vibrations

Periodic, simple harmonic motion of the mass

2. Undamped Free Vibrations

Period of motion

Natural frequency of the vibration

Amplitude (constant in time)

Phase or phase angle
 3. Damped Free Vibrations

no external force

Assume an exponential solution

Then

and substituting in equation

above, we have

(c
 3. Damped Free Vibrations

Solutions to characteristic equation:

overdamped
critically damped

underdamped
The solution y decays
as t goes to infinity regardless the values of A and B
Damp
ing gradually dissipates energy!
 3. Damped Free Vibrations
The most interesting case is underdamping, i.e:
3. Damped Free Vibrations: Small Damping
 4. Forced Vibrations

Periodic external force:

no damping

Case 1
4. Forced Vibrations: Beats
 4. Forced Vibrations: Beats

Slowly oscillating amplitude Rapidly oscillating

 4. Forced Vibrations: Resonance

Case 2

unbounded as
 5. Will this work for the beam?

 The beam seems to fit the harmonic conditions

• Force is zero when displacement is zero

• Restoring force increases with displacement
• Vibration appears periodic

 The key assumptions are

• Restoring force is linear in displacement

• Friction is linear in velocity
 8. References

W. Boyce and R.C. DiPrima: Elementary Differential Equations

and Boundary Value Problems