INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

Introduction, Background and Project Overview

A dynamic problem can be split in two steps: obtaining the equation of motion and solving it. To obtain the equation
of motion we use common dynamics theories such as Newton’s second law to develop the equation of motion, which
can then be solved through either analytical or numerical techniques. So far, you have mostly looked at analytical
solutions to problems (where we have an equation that describes motion at any time, t ), however, even for simple
dynamics problems these can rapidly become complex and unwieldy. Furthermore, the presence of a true analytical
solution is rare in many real-world problems and rely on simplifications and assumptions (e.g., neglecting drag).
Numerical solutions on the other hand can be readily used to solve simple and complex dynamics problems – even in
cases where an analytical solution does not exist. As numerical solutions are approximate, the main challenges
become computational resources and the elegance of the model to achieve the required accuracy within a reasonable
timeframe.

Elastic pendulum (also called spring pendulum or swinging spring) is a physical system where a mass is connected by
a spring. Compared with the ideal pendulum, not only angle, but also the length of string (spring) is changing in the
process, which makes the problem nonlinear, and extremely difficult to solve analytically. An example of such elastic
pendulum system is observed in bungee jumping and a schematic is provided below in Figure 1. In this assignment,
we will first obtain the analytical solution for the elastic pendulum with various approximations. Then the finite
difference method will be applied to obtain the numerical solution. We will then compare those 2 solutions.

Table 1. Physical quantities in the system.

Property Symbol Quantity Unit
Item

Total mass m 0.2 kg

Initial angle θ0 0.05 rad

Initial angular
velocity
θ̇0 0.02 rad/s
Initial radius
velocity
r˙0 0.1 m/s

Spring

Free length l0 25 m

Initial elongation dr 0 1 m

Figure 1. Schematic of an elastic pendulum. The grey Elastic coefficient k 20 N/m

curve represents the trajectory of the mass.

In this assignment, the following is assumed/given:

 The elastic pendulum swings in one plane, so two dimensional coordinate system is adequate to describe the
system.
 The equation of motion for a harmonic oscillator (elastic pendulum) is in the form of:
θ̈ ( t )+ a ⋅(θ ( t )−C )=0( a>0)

a and C are constants, which can vary depending on the characteristics of the system (spring, dimensions,
mass, etc), and need to be determined based on the problem at hands. This equation of motion has the
following linearised analytical solution when applying the small angle theorem (θ<5 o , sinθ≈ θ , cosθ ≈ 1):

θ ( t )= A cos ( ωn ⋅t−ϕ ) +C
Where
Angular frequency ω n= √ a
Amplitude A=√ (θ0 −C)2+ ¿ ¿
Phase ϕ=atan ⁡¿
Equation of Motion

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
1. Draw the free body diagram for the elastic pendulum model in the Fig 1. Write down the equations of motion
in polar coordinate system, and Cartesian coordinate system. (3 points)

The final solution to the equations of motion in Polar coordinate system are as follows (This has not been
completed):

The final solution to the equations of motion in Cartesian coordinate system are as follows (This has been
completed, but show how this solution was derived):

Below are some tips for question 1 that you can delete later:

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Analytical Solution
2. To get the analytical solution, for a tough spring and a small mass, we can use the following assumption:
 The elastic pendulum does harmonic oscillation in θ and r direction.
 In r direction, the oscillation of the spring is the dominant motion, and terms relevant to θ can be
ignored.
 In θ direction, the change of the spring length can be ignored, terms with r can be ignored.
Arrange the equation of motion in polar coordinate system (from question 1) to the harmonic oscillation form:
(1) use small angle theorem first, (2) then delete extra non-linear terms for approximation. Get the analytical
solution of elastic pendulum with the parameters in table 1. (3 points)

Answer within this box. Change the size of the box if needed.

Below are some tips for question 2 that you can delete later:

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Finite Differences
3. Write down the equation of motion in Cartesian coordinate system from Question 1 in the finite difference
form. State the initial conditions for finite difference method. Show all working. (3 points)

Answer within this box. Change the size of the box if needed.

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
MATLAB Code
4. Screenshot or copy/paste your MATLAB code for solving the finite difference equations obtained in
Question 3. (1 point)

Include initialisation based on Question 3.

Do not include the code part responsible for the plotting.

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Discretization and Convergence:
5. The accuracy of the numerical solution is entirely dependent on the timestep dt . The accuracy and the
computational cost both increase indefinitely as dt → 0 . Because of this, in practical application where
computational resources are limited, we are only interested in dt that provides results that do not
change/benefit from any further increase in resolution.
1) Estimate the dt value according to the frequency in Question 2. There should be at least 40 points in one
period in each direction. (1 point)
2) Plot the trajectory of the elastic pendulum from the numerical solution (x-y plot), with at least 2 periods
in each direction. (1 point)

Answer within this box. Change the size of the box if needed.

Below are some tips for question 5 that you can delete later:

Numerical solution VS Analytical solution:

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 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
6. 1) Plot the x history (x-t plot) from numerical solution and analytical solution against each other on the same
figure. Are they similar to each other? How about y history (y-t plot)? (1 points)
2) Increase the mass and decrease the elastic coefficient in Table 1 as you like. Plot the trajectory from the
numerical and analytical solution (x-y plot) with at least two periods in each direction. Which solution is more
authentic and close to reality? Why? (2 points)
Answer within this box. Change the size of the box if needed.

Below are some tips for question 6 that you can delete later: