Chapter 2-2

Free Vibration of Single-Degree

of-Freedom Systems
Response of First-Order Systems and Time Constant
Consider a turbine rotor mounted in bearings
Assuming the mass moment of inertia of the rotor about the axis of rotation as 𝐽
and the rotational damping constant of the bearings as 𝑐𝑡 , the application of
Newton’s second law of motion yields the equation of motion of the rotor as

 We assume the initial angular velocity

𝜔 = 𝑡 = 0 = 𝜔𝑜 , as the input and the
angular velocity of the rotor as the output
of the system.
 Note that the angular velocity, instead of
the angular displacement, is considered
as the output in order to obtain the
equation of motion as a first order
differential equation.
 Response of First-Order Systems and Time Constant

The solution of the equation of motion of the rotor, can be found by assuming the
trial solution as

where A and s are unknown constants.

By using the initial condition 𝜔 = 𝑡 = 0 = 𝜔𝑜

This equation is known as the characteristic equation which yields

Thus the solution becomes

 Response of First-Order Systems and Time Constant
The variation of the angular velocity with time is
shown.
In dealing with exponentially decaying responses,
it is convenient to describe the response in terms
of a quantity known as the time constant (𝜏).
The time constant is defined as the value of time
which makes the exponent equal to −1.
𝑐𝑡
Because the exponent is − 𝑡, the time constant
𝐽
will be equal to

so that for 𝑡 = 𝜏 ,

 Rayleigh’s Energy Method
For a single-degree-of-freedom system, in addition to Newton's law, the equation of motion
was derived using the energy method.
In this section, we shall use the energy method to find the natural frequencies of single-
degree-of-freedom systems.
The principle of conservation of energy, in the context of an undamped vibrating system,
can be restated as

where the subscripts 1 and 2 denote two different instants of time.

Specifically, we use the subscript 1 to denote the time when the mass is passing through
its static equilibrium position and choose 𝑈1 = 0 as reference for the potential energy.
If we let the subscript 2 indicate the time corresponding to the maximum displacement of
the mass, we have𝑇2 = 0

If the system is undergoing harmonic motion, then 𝑇1 and 𝑈2 denote the maximum values
of T and U, respectively.

The application of this equation, which is also known as Rayleigh s energy method, gives
the natural frequency of the system directly.
 Rayleigh’s Energy Method
Example-Effect of Mass on 𝝎𝒏 of a Spring
Determine the effect of the mass of the spring on the natural
frequency of the spring-mass system.
Solution
To find the effect of the mass of the spring on the natural frequency, we add the kinetic energy of
the spring mass to that of the attached mass.
Let 𝑙 be the total length of the spring. If 𝑥 denotes the displacement of the lower end of the spring
(or mass m), the displacement at distance y from the support is given by 𝑦(𝑥/𝑙).
Similarly, if 𝑥 denotes the velocity of the mass m, the velocity of a spring element located at
distance y from the support is given by 𝑦(𝑥/𝑙).
The kinetic energy of the spring element of length dy is

where 𝑚𝑠 is the mass of the spring.

 Rayleigh’s Energy Method
Example-Effect of Mass on 𝝎𝒏 of a Spring
Determine the effect of the mass of the spring on the natural
frequency of the spring-mass system.
Solution
The total kinetic energy of the system can be expressed as
𝑇 = kinetic energy of mass (𝑇𝑚 ) + kinetic energy of spring (𝑇𝑠 )

The total potential energy of the system is given by

By assuming a harmonic motion
where X is the maximum displacement of the mass and 𝝎𝒏 is the natural frequency.
The maximum kinetic and potential
energies can be expressed as
By equating 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 and 𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥 we obtain Thus the effect of spring mass can
be accounted for by adding one-third
the expression for the natural frequency of its mass to the main mass
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Equation of Motion
The viscous damping force F is proportional to the velocity
𝑥 or v and can be expressed as

where c is the damping constant or coefficient of viscous

damping and the negative sign indicates that the damping
force is opposite to the direction of velocity.
A single-degree-of-freedom system with a viscous damper
is shown.
If x is measured from the equilibrium position of the mass
m, the application of Newton’s law yields the equation of
motion:
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
We assume a solution in the form
where C and s are undetermined constants.
Inserting this function into equation of motion leads to the characteristic equation

These roots give two solutions

Thus the general solution is given by a combination of the two solutions

Where 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 are arbitrary constants to be determined from the initial conditions of
the system.
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
 Critical Damping Constant (𝒄𝒄 ) and the Damping Ratio ( 𝜻 ).
The critical damping 𝑐𝑐 is defined as the value of the damping constant c for which the
radical becomes zero:

For any damped system, the damping ratio is defined as the ratio of the damping
constant to the critical damping constant:

Using these equations we can write:

The nature of the roots 𝑠1 and 𝑠2 and hence the behavior of the solution, depends
upon the magnitude of damping.
It can be seen that the case leads to the undamped vibrations.
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
Case 1. Underdamped system ( 𝜻 < 𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 < 𝒄𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 𝟐𝒎 < 𝒌 𝒎 )
For this condition,(𝜁 2 − 1) is negative and the roots 𝑠1 and 𝑠2 can be expressed as

And the solution, can be written in different forms:

 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
Case 1. Underdamped system ( 𝜻 < 𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 < 𝒄𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 𝟐𝒎 < 𝒌 𝒎)

Where 𝐶1′ , 𝐶2′ , 𝑋, 𝜙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑋0 , 𝜙0 are arbitrary constants to be determined from the
initial conditions.
For the initial conditions 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜
and
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
Case 1. Underdamped system ( 𝜻 < 𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 < 𝒄𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 𝟐𝒎 < 𝒌 𝒎)

This motion is a damped harmonic motion of angular frequency but because

of the factor the amplitude decreases exponentially with time, as shown
The quantity is called the frequency of damped vibration, which is
always less than the undamped natural frequency.

 The underdamped case is very

important in the study of mechanical
vibrations, as it is the only case that
leads to an oscillatory motion
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
Case 2. Critically damped system ( 𝜻 = 𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 = 𝒄𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 𝟐𝒎 = 𝒌 𝒎)

In this case the two roots 𝑠1 and 𝑠2 are equal:

Because of the repeated roots, the solution is given by
The application of the initial conditions 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜 for
this case gives:

It can be seen that the motion is

aperiodic (i.e., nonperiodic).
 Free Vibration with Viscous Damping
Solution for Equation of Motion
Case 3. Overdamped system ( 𝜻 > 𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 > 𝒄𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝒄 𝟐𝒎 > 𝒌 𝒎)
In this case 𝜁 2 − 1 > 1 and the roots 𝑠1 and 𝑠2 are real and distinct and are
given by

The solution is given by

The application of the initial conditions 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥𝑜 gives:

Compared with critically damped

the mass take more time to
returns to the position of rest.
 Logarithmic Decrement
 The logarithmic decrement represents the rate at which the amplitude of a free-damped vibration
decreases.
 It is defined as the natural logarithm of the ratio of any two successive amplitudes.
 Let 𝑡1 and 𝑡2 denote the times corresponding to two consecutive amplitudes measured one cycle
apart for an underdamped system we can form the ratio

 But 𝑡2 = 𝑡1 +𝜏𝑑 , where 𝜏𝑑 = 2𝜋/𝜔𝑑 is the period of damped vibration. Hance

cos 𝜔𝑑 𝑡2 − ϕ0 = cos 2𝜋 + 𝜔𝑑 𝑡2 − ϕ0 =cos 𝜔𝑑 𝑡1 − ϕ0

 The logarithmic decrement 𝛿 can be obtained from:

 For small damping, 𝛿 can be approximated:

16
 Logarithmic Decrement
 The variation of the logarithmic decrement 𝛿 with 𝜁 is as shown.
 It can be noticed that for values up to 𝜁 = 0.3, the two curves are difficult to
distinguish.
 The logarithmic decrement is dimensionless and is actually another form of
the dimensionless damping ratio 𝜁, Once 𝛿 is known, 𝜁 can be found

or

 If the damping in the given system is not known, we can determine it

experimentally by measuring any two consecutive displacements 𝑥1 and 𝑥2
 If 𝑥1 and 𝑥𝑚+1 denote the amplitudes corresponding to times 𝑡1 and
𝑡𝑚+1 = 𝑡1 + 𝑚𝜏𝑑 where m is an integer, we obtain

∵
 EXAMPLE Shock Absorber for a Motorcycle
An underdamped shock absorber is to be designed for a motorcycle of mass 200 kg. When the shock absorber is
subjected to an initial vertical velocity due to a road bump, the resulting displacement-time curve is to be as
indicated. Find the necessary stiffness and damping constants of the shock absorber if the damped period of
vibration is to be 2 s and the amplitude 𝑥1 is to be reduced to one-fourth in one half cycle (i.e., 𝑥1.5 = 𝑥1 /4). Also
find the minimum initial velocity that leads to a maximum displacement of 250 mm.
The displacement of the mass will attain its maximum value at time 𝑡1 (see Problem 2.99) is given by

The envelope passing through the maximum points (see Problem 2.99) is given by

The velocity of the mass can be obtained by differentiating the displacement

 Torsional Systems with Viscous Damping
The methods presented for linear vibrations with viscous
damping can be extended directly to viscously damped
torsional (angular) vibrations.
Consider a single-degree-of-freedom torsional system
with a viscous damper, as shown
The viscous damping torque is given by
The equation of motion can be derived as

The solution can be found exactly as in the case of linear

vibrations. For example, in the underdamped case, the
frequency of damped vibration is given by
 Graphical Representation of Characteristic Roots and
Corresponding Solutions
Roots of the Characteristic Equation

or

The roots of the characteristic equation, called the characteristic roots

or, simply, roots, help us in understanding the behavior of the system.
 Graphical Representation of Roots and Corresponding Solutions

This roots can be plotted in a complex plane,

also known as the s-plane.

 The roots lying farther to the left in the s-plane indicate that the corresponding responses
decay faster than those associated with roots closer to the imaginary axis.
 If the roots have positive real values of s that is, the roots lie in the right half of the s-plane,
the corresponding response grows exponentially and hence will be unstable.
 If the roots lie on the imaginary axis (with zero real value), the corresponding response will be
naturally stable.
 If the roots have a zero imaginary part, the corresponding response will not oscillate.
 Graphical Representation of Roots and Corresponding Solutions

This roots can be plotted in a complex plane,

also known as the s-plane.

 The larger the imaginary part of the roots, the higher the frequency of oscillation of the
corresponding response of the system.
 The characteristics that describe the behavior of the response of a system include oscillatory
nature, frequency of oscillation, and response time. These characteristics are inherent to the
system (depend on the values of m, c, and k) and are determined by the characteristic roots of
the system but not by the initial conditions.
 The initial conditions determine only the amplitudes and phase angles.
 Stability of Systems
Stability is one of the most important characteristics for any vibrating system.
For linear and time-invariant systems (i.e., systems for which the parameters m, c, and
k do not change with time).
A system is defined to be asymptotically stable (called stable in controls literature) if
its free-vibration response approaches zero as time approaches infinity.
A system is considered to be unstable if its free-vibration response grows without
bound (approaches infinity) as time approaches infinity.
A system is said to be stable (called marginally stable in controls literature) if its free-
vibration response neither decays nor grows, but remains constant or oscillates as time
approaches infinity.
It is evident that an unstable system whose free-vibration response grows without
bounds can cause damage to the system, adjacent property, or human life.
Usually, dynamic systems are designed with limit stops to prevent their responses from
growing with no limit.
The definitions of asymptotically stable, unstable, and stable systems given above are
still applicable for forced systems.
 Stability of Systems
Systems whose characteristics roots lie in the left half of the s-plane
(with a negative real part) will be asymptotically stable.
 These responses decay to zero as time approaches infinity
Systems whose characteristic roots lie in the right half of the s-plane
(with positive real part) will be unstable.
These responses approach infinity as time approaches infinity.
Systems whose characteristic roots lie on the imaginary axis of the
s-plane (with zero real part) will be stable.
These responses neither increase nor decrease in amplitude as
time grows.
If a linear model of a system is asymptotically stable, then it is not
possible to find a set of initial conditions for which the response
approaches infinity.
However, if the linear model of the system is unstable, it is possible
that certain initial conditions might make the response approach
zero as time increases.
 Homework # 3

2.84 , 2.87 , 2.102 , 2.104 , 2.105 , 2.119